Social media is a very powerful tool. It changed the way we interact with others in real life. An example of this is internet lingo making its way into daily conversations, and even changing the meaning of those words. The word “like” has a totally new meaning in today’s world due to big players like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. As bad as it sounds, I personally would be lost without the big players of social media. I use Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family far away, YouTube keeps me entertained, and I use Google at least once a day even for the most mundane things. However, a concern I do have about these sights is ownership. As an artist I want to share my work with the world, but what is preventing someone else from posting my work as their own? I’ve seen others place watermarks on their photos just to have somebody remove it in photoshop. Social media has its pros and cons, but all together I think the world is a better place with it.
As a total word-nerd, I find it fascinating how social media has catalyzed the evolution of some word meanings. "Like" is a really good example that I hadn't really thought about before. Another one I find interesting is "literally," which now means both literally and figuratively, and that's according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Those etymologists don't mess around! Expressions like "let me google that," or "face-creeped" have also sprung into our common lingo, seemingly out of nowhere. If you want, I could bring my Dictionary of Word Origins to school sometime. You might find it interesting because it shows how the English language is like a living, breathing organism and it traces etymological changes really nicely.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds really interesting, Tess. Also, I love the term "word-nerd", I have never heard that before!
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