The Internet has had an indelible impact on nearly every aspect of our modern world, and slang is no exception.
The first words you think of when you hear the phrase ‘Internet slang’ are probably rizz, skibidi, Ohio, or other such terms frequently labeled as brain rot. But while these terms are the most obvious examples, online spaces have produced slang that is less obvious. In fact, even the word brain rot is slang, although it was later added to the Oxford English Dictionary and was named the Dictionary’s Word of the Year.
David P. ’27 and Jacob F. ’27 both feel the effect of the Internet on the slang they use. “I don’t use brain rot terms, but I do think that the Internet has had an effect on my vocabulary,” David says. This same sentiment is shared by Jacob, who says, “There isn’t a day that I don’t hear slang at Heritage.”
But despite Internet slang’s influence, which is usually seen as degrading the ways that people are able to communicate with one another, neither David nor Jacob actually have a problem with Internet slang. “People’s impression of someone is more heavily dependent on their voice than their vocabulary,” David says, later elaborating with “You’d be surprised at the stupid things people will say and others believe them because they say it confidently.”
Jacob lauds the unique abilities of slang, even so-called brain rot, for its ability to “[give] us new words to express ourselves without having to sound like a nerd” by “[containing] complex meanings in a short word or phrase, allowing expression with ease.”
Jacob’s view on the role of brain rot is actually in direct contention with the standard meaning of the word, which generally portrays the slang that falls under its umbrella, and for that matter the people who use it, as being a product of mindless content on the Internet that is titularly rotting one’s brain.