Student Opinion: The Ins and Outs of Teen Slang
Launch the media gallery 1 playerAfter a long day of school, sometimes all I want to do is sit on the couch and scroll on social media. I’ve been away from my phone for the past eight hours and am relieved to finally send a message to my group chat with as much slang and errors as I want. Then someone writes a message in the group chat with grammatically correct and humorless sentences. I immediately freeze. Why would they write this? Are they mad? Aggravated? Trying to make a point?
If this situation has ever happened to you, then you understand how many young teenagers feel after they receive a message ending with one big period.
To generations like Gen Z and Gen Alpha, using correct punctuation comes off as rude. If you write a sentence and end it with a period, our generation takes it as you are angry at them and it can put a distance between the two. The punctuation is polite when you are speaking to someone older than you, but offensive when you are speaking among your friends. Think of a mother saying her kids full name to show she is irritated. It is a stern way to show she is frustrated. Adding a period to a casual sentence will make it come across as you are angry. Just like typing in all CAPS, which usually shows yelling or that someone is excited about something.
Older generations find it difficult to comprehend all the new words and punctuation that younger generations are saying and using. It is slang that comes from several platforms such as Tiktok, Twitch, and Instagram. In my experience, many older people get confused on what words mean. My friends and I will be speaking a normal sentence and a slang word might slip and the teacher will make us repeat what we said because they didn’t understand the word. These are words that aren’t being used in sentences but more of being said randomly. For example, “negative aura” has replaced giving off “bad vibes,” and “rizz” means a romantic appeal or charm. While some parents or teachers might be confused, it’s no different from any other way slang has developed in previous generations.
Unlike writing for a school paper, sending a normal message digitally has no rules. Most of our casual communication is digital. In text, everything is abbreviated and there is zero punctuation. Slang is becoming more popular these days because almost every teen has access to the internet. Younger generations spend more time online, which is why our language is influenced by digital devices. As teenagers, we use slang to create our own language and to make ourselves different from other groups – it’s something we understand, and we can relate to the words and phrases. The meaning of slang words can differentiate depending on the people or the situation. Most teen slang words are used in a conversation between friends and not necessarily used in a professional setting like school.
So yes, if you are ever texting me and it comes across grammatically correct and you end it with a period, I will probably jump to conclusions and figure you are mad. It’s just a teen thing.