Kebo Zhang

Lori Bedell
CAS 137H
29 November, 2017
Analysis of Cultural shift in Colloquial Language: A review

In an ever-evolving technological world, consumers have seen drastic advances in a

myriad of fields. From an increased efficiency in food production to improvements in public

healthcare, modern society has undoubtedly made giant steps in improving everyday standards.

Interestingly, while the standards of day to day life improved, modern society also saw an

increase in pathological terms such as cancer and autism. This shift as with everything modern

had a technological twist; rather than an increase in these diseases on a biological sense, the idea

of cancer and autism have transformed on a metaphorical scale incorporating themselves into

everyday language and communication. In what was coined by Career Planner as “Generation

Z”, the current generation as a culture has become renowned for their innovative usage of

colloquial language: in other words, slang (Robinson). The concept of slang is not new, it is a

unique ever changing colloquial concept often moving in conjunction with the current generation

and their societal values. However, while past slang was incorporated solely for the purpose of

convenience - such as the transformation of telephone to just “phone”: - the Z generation took it

to a new level (Ockerstrom). Language to Generation Z has become a unique form of self-

expression in the forms of metaphors and exaggerations. With a rising culture of stress and work,

it’s not uncommon now to hear statements such as “This exam killed me; I have so much cancer”

even given the fact that they do not in reality have cancer. This tag on the use of diseases acts as

a prime way for those of Generation Z to express such pains. Arguably, this evolution of

communication from a formal language into a colloquial slang is attributed by a fundamental

transition in American culture caused by a cascade of transformations following an improvement

in technology.

Perhaps one of the critical steps that attributed to the current generation Z culture is the

implementation and improvement of technology. Interestingly, while advancements in

technology occurred as early as 1938 with the invention of the computer, it wasn’t until the late

20th to early 21st century upon which the onset of the internet, computers, television and the new

telephone “smartphone” became relevant to consumers. This gap between invention and actual

consumer consumption of goods can be explained through a series of economic factors. On a

societal scale, the vast majority of consumers are categorized as middle class with the median

income per the U.S Census Bureau being $53,899 as of July 1st, 2016. As such, many did not

have the monetary ability or incentive to buy the pioneering technology of their time. For

consumers, the logical move then would be to wait it out until the companies of said technology

decided to lower the price in response to new technological developments to remain competitive

and on the market. This idea of consumer roles in dictating prices can closely be seen through the

economic concept of elasticity: how easy a product’s demand changes due to changes in price.

Because newer technologies such as the television or smartphones were not absolutely necessary

to consumers at the time, they were generally considered elastic. As such, increased prices

associated with newer technology drastically decreased demand while lowering prices drastically

increased demand. This along with the procedural time it takes to apply for a patent and

successfully market said technology to consumers consists of the bulk of time gap between

invention and later widespread usage. Career Planner’s analysis of Generation Z set’s the

birthdate range to children born between 1995 and 2012. This date range coincidentally matches
almost perfectly the era where consumer consumption of Iphones, internet and television

blossomed across the United states.

What does this mean? From a psychological standpoint, the current Generation Z were

born into a world saturated with the use of televisions, internet and cellular devices. To them,

technology and the efficiency it’s associated with became the norm; in other words, Generation

Z has essentially set a new “Neutral Point” on which they based their standards of living. As

such, what once was a “luxury” to those born during and before the time of the invention (which

essentially caused the delay in widespread utilization) has now become an essential “necessity”.

To many of the current generation, it is impossible to imagine a world without the internet, a

world without smart phones or computers “essential” to daily life. As a result, this mindset and

obligation towards technology successfully turned once elastic goods into inelastic goods

causing an increase in demand regardless of price. It is this very shift in perspective that acts as a

barrier between generations leading to a wide disparity in internet usage. Data collected by the

Pew Research Center portray an undeniable correlation between the age group and percent of

population that use the internet (Madden).

 Naturally, this drastic difference in internet exposure among generations has lead to a

shift in American culture through the onset of a new internet culture. As the internet evolved,

platforms such as Facebook and Youtube attracted billions of users successfully forming an

interlocking global community of people (Constine). With such a large population of users, the

internet community further subdivided and diversified as those interested in specific topics were

able browse and discuss with similar minded people in a specific field and area. While many of

these platforms (ranging from academics to entertainment) were viewed in a positive light, other

forums were not as beneficial. In particular, the anonymity provided by the internet lead to

specialized forums such as 4chan and Reddit where the ambiguity allowed users to freely express

themselves. Discussion among these forums however were not always positive and often

originated terms such as “cancer” and “kill me” as a response to a bad idea or topic (Dewey).

Intertwined with the development of internet platforms was the simultaneous rise in video

game consumerism. The entertainment industry at its core first emphasized the idea of a
sedentary (sitting) lifestyle with the advent of the television. The video game industry merely

took advantage of this concept of “screen entertainment” by adding a layer of interaction to the

screen while sitting. To young people, this proved to be a big hit as video games provided a form

of entertainment and convenience. From a psychosocial aspect, the need to fit in with various

social groups who played games also acted as a significant role in increasing computer gaming

consumption. Innate with the competitive attitude of Generation Z, the culture of video games

has risen to a professional level. The term Esports first originated late 20th century with a

nationwide Donkey Kong Arcade tournament and since then, any form of entertainment one can

think of has developed into a professional sport (Foxsports). From family fun games such as

Mario and Super Smash to battle arena games such as league of legends and overwatch, the

current generation successfully transformed the concept of “sports” which while previously seen

as physical has become more and more sedentary opting for mental and strategic styles over

athletics.
 Just as shifts in modern culture is implicitly linked to internet culture, so too is the

concept of internet culture linked to a rise in video game culture. While video games as a form

entertainment dated back to the 19th with the beginnings of the now popular Nintendo Company,

it wasn’t until 1997 with the emergence of Ultima Online that marked the start of a more

interactive multiplayer gameplay entertainment industry now coined as an MMO (mass

multiplayer online) (TheMMORPG). Perhaps inherent with the ascending popularity of player

vs player video games is the increasing rates of violence present as producers find it both

stylistically and technically easier to pit players against each other in a fighting style match as

opposed to other types of competitions. Gradually, the popularity of gaming evolved as the

presence of internet created subdivision of blogs and forums dedicated to specific games. The

presence of these forums allowed for distinct games to establish their own community and it was

in this process where the culture of gaming jargon came into play. Perhaps one of the biggest

examples of this came with the creation of League of Legends in 2009. Originally marketed as a

free battle arena game where players could compete against each other based off of skill and

strategy, league inevitably grew to be one of the largest gaming communities in the world. As of

2016, league of legends boasts an exorbitant number of 100 million active players monthly with

thousands more participating in forum discussions globally (Forbes). Along with this large

player fanbase came with it distinct vocabulary (previously seen solely in discussion forums)

such as cancer, toxicity, flaming etc. which over time integrated with the language of everyday

life (Kwak). This intermixing of videogame (internet) culture into reality has arguably become a

major contribution of the shift in everyday communication.

 Running in parallel with the evolving internet culture is a similar rise in stress and

depression. The emergence of technology in the form of social media and the internet has

allowed Generation Z access to a vast amount of resources. While beneficial in an academic

sense, this rush of information can be overwhelming, inundating the current generation with

unneeded stress in academics and their future careers (Stillman). This stress is likewise paired

with a rise in social media use, which while seen as a great way to interact with people, can also

be a means of exclusion and cyberbullying (Schrobdorff). Such trends in stress and depression

have correspondingly been linked to shifts in linguistic style and communication as referenced

by the Journal of Language and Social Psychology (Depression, Language and Affect). On the

other hand, the ease of connecting with others through applications such as Facebook and

Instagram has had many active social media users develop a habit of communication through

emphasis, opting to drastically hyperbolize quotidian events as a way to garner attention. This

movement to view communication as a way to gain attention has bled through (similar to video
game culture) into everyday interactions. This in turn further promotes and acts as another major

factor in the prevalence of colloquial slang. Instead of claiming “I just failed my exam” the

common Generation Z phrase - modified from previous forms of expression- has now become

embellished with expressions such cancer and kill me now as a way of conveying emotional

turmoil (DannyFenton123).

So why does this matter? While this shift in language and culture may seem insignificant,

the ramifications can be severe if prolonged. The repeated utilization of words such as cancer

and aids have undermined the actual concept of their scientific diseases: trivializing the disease

and those who suffer from such illnesses. This concept of desensitization likewise applies to idea

of violence. Due to shifting societal values in emphasizing what’s interesting as opposed to

what’s important, many sources of media and television have now opted to portray negative

stories of violence and strife due to their inherent intriguing nature as something “out of the

norm”. Scientifically, literary research reviews conducted by L. Rowell Huesmann under the

Pubmed article “The impact of Electronic Media Violence: Scientific Theory and Research” has

found astonishing evidence of both long term and short term increase in aggressive and violent

behavior due to childhood exposure of violent gameplay and interactions (Huesmann). This idea

was supported psychologically through both correlation and experimental studies attributing this

increase in violence to both social and psychological factors in observational learning,

reinforcement, desensitization and mimicry. In other words, exposure to rising violent video

games and language has effectively raised aggressive behavior in adolescents throughout the

United States. While this shift in language where everybody has “cancer” and “kill me” may

seem harmless, the unconscious psychological impacts are undeniable. This increasing violence

coupled with the inherent depressed and stressful life of Generation Z is a formula for
catastrophes. Data presented from the National Institute of Mental Health and the Journal of

communication though small portrayed an undeniable correlation between violence exposure (in

the forms of language and media social interactions) and actual violence involving both actions

done to oneself and others.

 The problems that lay in our shifts in communication for United States Generation Z

adolescents are blatant yet such shifts are consistent with a myriad of other factors, from rising

video game culture to an influx in stress and depression. The idea that everything has a price is a

common saying in economics, and the price of technology and convenience, though not

monetary is still significant. As technology becomes even more advanced, projected casual

“violent” language and their associated catastrophes will likely increase. Yet just as with the

United States “war on drugs” campaign started by Richard Nixon in 1971, the most important

first step is educate consumers the negative impact this shift in language and societal values may

have overall. Awareness of communication among peers is critical in stopping desensitization

and observational learning (for the young) in halting the epidemic on casual “violence, cancer

and suicide”. At the same time, improved social support system and reducing depression and
other factors linked to causing shifts in language serves as a great start in reverting what has

become just another aspect of the Generation Z culture.

 Citations:

American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association,

www.apa.org/action/resources/research-in-action/protect.aspx.

Huesmann, L. Rowell. “The Impact of Electronic Media Violence: Scientific Theory and

Research.” Journal of Adolescent Health, vol. 41, no. 6, 2007,

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.09.005.

Lynch, Andrew. “Tracing the 70-Year History of Video Games Becoming ESports.” FOX

Sports, 6 May 2016, www.foxsports.com/buzzer/story/esports-explainer-league-of-

legends-heroes-of-the-storm-hearthstone-cs-go-dreamhack-050616.

“Tracing the Origins of Modern Internet Culture to the BBS World.” Nieman Lab,

www.niemanlab.org/2015/04/tracing-the-origins-of-modern-internet-culture-to-the-bbs-

world/.

St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Ed. Thomas Riggs. Vol. 4. 2nd ed. Detroit: St. James

Press, 2013. p591-592.

Inc., MTR at CareerPlanner.com. “The Generations.” The Generations - Which Generation Are

You?, www.careerplanner.com/Career-Articles/Generations.cfm.

“QuickFacts.” U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts Selected: UNITED STATES,

www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045216.

LaFrance, Adrienne. “How Early Computer Games Influenced Internet Culture.” The Atlantic,

Atlantic Media Company, 14 Apr. 2016,

www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/04/how-early-computer-games-

influenced-internet-culture/478167/.

Madden, Kathryn Zickuhr and Mary. “Main Report.” Pew Research Center: Internet, Science &

Tech, 5 June 2012, www.pewinternet.org/2012/06/06/main-report-15/.

Constine, Josh. “Facebook Now Has 2 Billion Monthly Users… and Responsibility.”

TechCrunch, TechCrunch, 27 June 2017, techcrunch.com/2017/06/27/facebook-2-billion-

users/.

“The MMORPG.” RPG Evolution - The MMORPG,

iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring05/Hill/mmorpg.html.
Kwak, Haewoon & Blackburn, Jeremy. (2014). Linguistic Analysis of Toxic Behavior in an

Online Video Game. 8852. . 10.1007/978-3-319-15168-7_26.

DannyFenton123. “Why Do People Joke about Suicide?” Asexual Visibility and Education

Network, 19 Jan. 2016, www.asexuality.org/en/topic/132707-why-do-people-joke-about-

suicide/.

“Depression, Language, and Affect.” Journal of Language and Social Psychology,

journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0261927X15589186.

SirΤeemο (EUNE) submitted in Player Behavior. “Why Would You Say ‘Cancer’ in Any Kind

of Form in a Video Game?” Boards, boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/player-

behavior-moderation/TytWgEh5-why-would-you-say-cancer-in-any-kind-of-form-in-a-

video-game.

Stillman, Jessica. “Gen Z Is Anxious, Distrustful, and Often Downright Miserable, New Poll

Reveals.” Inc.com, Inc., www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/gen-z-is-anxious-distrustful-and-

often-downright-miserable-new-poll-reveals.html.

Schrobdorff, Suzanne. “What's Causing Depression And Anxiety In Teens?” Time, Time,

time.com/4547322/american-teens-anxious-depressed-overwhelmed/.