While watching an episode of PEN15, I was recently reminded
of our pre-2000’s AOL Instant Messenger code language that then seemed like
absurd & fleeting teen-talk. As if anyone was actually ROTFL, LMAO, or even
LOLing, we JK’d, BRB’d, BTW’d, & TTYL’d ourselves into a frenzy for hours
on end. The prospect of actually typing out full words or sentences was clearly
an exhausting prospect that has had a lasting effect on the languages used on
the internet and beyond. As our capacity for formal prose diminishes in favor
for concise, digital narrative, marketers, journalists, and civilians alike
have had to adapt to keep up in the digital age.
Across the internet and mobile devices, platforms for marketers
are continuously expanding, from standard web to Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat,
Reddit, TikToc, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and beyond. These platforms are
redefining how we communicate, often times through a multimedia approach. When focusing
strictly on writing for these spaces, additional considerations must be made
from platform to platform, specifically their unique segments of participants as
well as the points in time at which they adopt in to said forum. A period, for
example, has varied meanings depending on the platform and audience. While
traditionally a neutral notation that identifies the end of a sentence, it can
have extra textual meaning to masses of people in the digital age of
communication who lean toward efficiency and interpret new inferences of tone.
A specifically applied period over a text could be interpreted, unlike ever
before, as passive aggressive or business-like and formal.
Linguist Gretchen McCulloch actually believes that the
varied levels of formality and constraints of the internet have caused us to
become even more sophisticated with our communication. According to her
studies, posts on Twitter have increased in complexity since 2008 as users have
determined the most efficient way possible to deliver an effective message,
often at the cost of standard punctuation and grammar. Tradition has been
repurposed and replaced with acronyms, emojis, and other imagery such as GIFs.
McCulloch even goes as far to say that people are becoming more expressive
writers as a result of the paradigm shift. A playful extenuation of the word “and”
to “aaaaaaaaand” applies additional tone that is conversational in nature. “Aaaaaaand”
applies informative characteristics that indicate more about the individuals’ message
that traditionally might only come through the textures of spoken words. While
some might suggest it is a lazy alternative to or bastardization of sophisticated
vocabulary and syntax, she believes that we “no longer have to accept that
nuanced writing is the exclusive domain of professionals.”
Ultimately and most importantly, the one question that we
should most consider centers around the most iconic of the emoji’s…the
eggplant. What is truly most effective in expressing lust? Is it a shorthand,
digital age icon that represents original expression that has room for interpretation?
Or, are the salacious and specific words of the likes of Danielle Steel, John
Berger, Hanya Yanagihara irreplaceable?
https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/is-the-internet-making-writing-better
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