{"id":2016,"date":"2025-03-25T06:07:17","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T02:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/?p=2016"},"modified":"2025-03-25T06:07:26","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T02:07:26","slug":"how-social-media-turned-us-all-into-crypto-humansa-generational-guide-to-digital-dialects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/2025\/03\/25\/how-social-media-turned-us-all-into-crypto-humansa-generational-guide-to-digital-dialects\/","title":{"rendered":"How Social Media Turned Us All Into Crypto Humans:A Generational Guide To Digital Dialects"},"content":{"rendered":"

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There are two types of people in this world: Those who think \u2018SMH<\/em><\/span>\u2019 means \u2018So Much Happiness<\/span><\/em>\u2019 and those who know it\u2019s the sound your soul makes when your dad comments \u2018VERY NICE PIC BETA \"😍\" \u2019on your LinkedIn post about layoffs.”<\/p>\n

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I recently was shown a Gen Z\u2019s Instagram story that said, \u2018She ate, no crumbs.\u2019 I stared at it for 10 minutes, convinced it was either a food review or a cannibal confession. Turns out, it meant \u2018She did well.\u2019 Meanwhile, my uncle\u2019s WhatsApp status is still \u2018Good morning \"☀️\"\u00a0God bless\u00a0\"🙏\"\u00a0Send to 10 people for luck.\u2019 Evolution? More like devolution.<\/p>\n

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THE LANGUAGE OF EACH PLATFORM (AND WHY IT\u2019S INSANE)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Instagram: Where Reality Goes to Die<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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Gen Z<\/em><\/span>:\u201cPOV: You\u2019re a strawberry in a vegan caf\u00e9\u201d (Translation: I took a photo of my smoothie.)<\/p>\n

– Millennials<\/em><\/span>:\u201cLiving my best life! \"✨\" #Blessed\u201d(Translation: I cried into my avocado toast today.)\u00a0 Here’s a Bonus- Millennial Caption<\/em><\/span>:\u201cLiving authentically! (After 3 filters, 2 Facetune edits, and 1 existential crisis.)<\/p>\n

– Boomers<\/em><\/span>: Posts a sunset pic with no caption, just \"🌅\". Profound. Sorry, must add this- Boomer Comment<\/em><\/span>:\u201cNice pic beta. When marriage?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

LinkedIn: The Land of Fake Humility<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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-Humbled to be featured in Forbes\u2019 \u2018Top 100 People Who Paid to Be Featured in Forbes.\u2019<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

-\u201cI failed 17 times before I sold my startup for $2 billion. Here\u2019s a vague inspirational quote to distract you from my trust fund.\u201d<\/p>\n

-\u201cTook a 2-day course on breathing. Here\u2019s how it made me a CEO.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

– ” Just had a coffee. Here\u2019s how it taught me about scalable growth.”<\/p>\n

– Bonus<\/em><\/span>: The guy who writes \u201cAgree?\u201d after stating the sky is blue. Wisdom whiplashed!!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

WhatsApp: The Forward(backward?) Factory<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

– Boomer Special<\/em><\/span>:\u201cNASA says Jupiter will align with Venus tonight and cure arthritis. Forward to family or suffer bad luck for 7 years.\u201d (And, if you are seeking ground reality, please ask Sunita Williams)<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n

– Millennial Adaptation<\/em><\/span>:\u201cSend this to 10 friends for good vibes! \"🤗\"\u201d (Still guilt-tripping, just with emojis.)<\/p>\n

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–Classic Forward<\/span><\/em>:\u201cDANGER! Sleeping with your phone under your pillow causes 5G cancer!!! Send to 10 family members or face bad luck for 6 lifetimes.<\/p>\n

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Twitter\/X: Where Subtlety Goes to Die<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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Gen Z<\/em><\/span>:\u201cMe: exists Anxiety: Bestie, let\u2019s ruin your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

– Corporate Twitter<\/em><\/span>:\u201cWe\u2019re sorry you found a rat in your burger. Here\u2019s a coupon for 10% off your next rat-free meal!(And no, they don’t smell a rat!).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TikTok: The Land of Cryptic Challenges<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

– \u201cPOV<\/em><\/span>: You\u2019re a Victorian ghost watching me eat cereal at 3 AM.\u201d (Why???)<\/p>\n

– Comments Section<\/em><\/span>:\u201cShe\u2019s so me.\u201d(No, Karen, you\u2019re not a sentient croissant.)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Snapchat: Where Conversations Go to Get Buried<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

– Gen Z<\/em><\/span>: Sends a blurry selfie with the caption \u201cUgh.\u201d<\/p>\n

– Millennial<\/em><\/span>:\u201dWait, how do you use this app again?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Some real world examples that will make us all wheeze<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The LinkedIn Poet<\/span><\/em>: \u201cThe clock ticks. The coffee cools. My Excel sheet stares back. #CorporateLife\u201d(Sir, this is a Wendy\u2019s.)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Instagram Philosopher<\/em><\/span>: \u201cBe like water. But also like fire. But also like a rock. But also\u2026just buy my detox tea.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The WhatsApp Uncle<\/span><\/em>: Sends a 240p video titled \u201cSCIENTIFIC PROOF OF LORD KRISHNA\u2019S INTERNET\u201d with UFO clips from 1998. (KNOW<\/em><\/span>stalgia Marketing anyone?).<\/p>\n

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The TikTok Therapist<\/em><\/span>: \u201cIf he doesn\u2019t appreciate your \u2018quiet BPD<\/em><\/span> chaotic cottage core vibe,\u2019 he\u2019s not your twin flame.\u201d(Ma\u2019am, that\u2019s a felony.)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Gen Z invented a word called \u2018rizz,\u2019 which means \u2018charisma.\u2019 Meanwhile, my aunt\u2019s idea of rizz is forwarding a message that says, \u2018Drink warm water with lemon at 5:17 AM for eternal youth.\u2019 Sorry, aunty, but your rizz is broken.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lets look at who’s winning in the Generational Warfare<\/em><\/span>: TBH<\/em><\/span>– no one!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

–Gen Z<\/em><\/span>:\u00a0 Texts Like:\u201cWdym<\/em><\/span> you didn\u2019t see my story? Are you ghosting me or just old?\u201d<\/p>\n

– Reality<\/em><\/span>:Will cancel you for using \"😂\" instead of \"💀\".<\/p>\n

–Millennials<\/em><\/span>: Still Using:\u201c TBH, IDK, I\u2019m just here for the WiFi.\u201d<\/p>\n

– Also Millennials<\/em><\/span>: Writes a LinkedIn post<\/em><\/span> about how their cat taught them leadership.<\/p>\n

–Boomers<\/span><\/em>:<\/p>\n

– Facebook Post<\/em><\/span>:\u201cGood morning friends! Today\u2019s thought: Life is like a bicycle. Keep pedaling or you\u2019ll fall. Also, don\u2019t forget to drink warm water.\u201d<\/p>\n

– WhatsApp Forward<\/em><\/span>:\u201cNEVER charge your phone at night \u2013 it steals your soul AND your data!\u201d .<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

-Bonus<\/em><\/span>-Every message begins with “GOOD MORNING FAMILY\u00a0\"🌞\"\"🌻\"\"🙏\"“\u2014even at 9 PM.<\/p>\n

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Some awe<\/em><\/span>bservations:<\/p>\n

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-Somewhere between Shakespeare<\/em><\/span> and “WYD<\/em><\/span>?”, humanity tripped, fell, and landed in an abyss of emojis and abbreviations.<\/p>\n

-If aliens ever intercept our tweets, they\u2019ll assume Earth is ruled by cats, influencers, and people who speak exclusively in “\"😭\"\"😂\"\"🔥\".<\/p>\n

-Once upon a time, “thread<\/em><\/span>” was something you used to stitch clothes. Now, it’s 47 tweets about why oat milk is a scam. Sorry, just needling you!<\/p>\n

-If Socrates<\/em><\/span> had lived today, he’d be explaining philosophy on TikTok<\/em><\/span> in 15 second clips, captioned “POV: You Just Got Enlightened. \"💅\"“.<\/p>\n

-My friend’s grandmother thinks “LOL<\/em><\/span>” means “Lots of Love<\/em><\/span>“\u2014which is how she once texted condolences at a funeral.<\/p>\n

–Gen Z<\/em><\/span>(The Keepers of Internet Slang & Chaos Incarnate)-always speaks in lowercase<\/em><\/span>, because proper capitalization<\/em><\/span> is apparently a crime.<\/p>\n

–Gen X<\/em>(The Facebook Philosophers & LinkedIn Poets)<\/span><\/span>– Think Instagram filters<\/em><\/span> are a government conspiracy to make people look better than they actually do.<\/p>\n

–Millennials<\/em><\/span> (The Meme Lords & Hashtag Enthusiasts)- are very fluent in GIFs<\/em><\/span>. Can have entire conversations using just Michael Scott<\/em><\/span>\u2019s face. Them typing “I’m dead<\/span><\/em>\u00a0\"💀\"” does not mean they require medical assistance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Before I sign off, here’s an ode to The Emoji Hierarchy<\/em><\/span>:<\/strong>\u00a0\"🚀\"\u00a0= “We’re going viral, baby.”\u00a0\"💀\"\u00a0= “I\u2019m laughing so hard I might actually be dead.”\u00a0\"🔥\"\u00a0= “You\u2019re cool, but I\u2019m too lazy to type actual words.”\u00a0\"👀\"\u00a0= “I\u2019m watching this drama unfold with popcorn.”\u00a0\"🫠\"\u00a0= “I have no words, only existential dread.”\u00a0\"🙏\"\u00a0= Used by Boomers to mean “God bless” and by Millennials to mean “Pls, I beg.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Final Thoughts: Keeping Up with the Internet’s Linguistic Gymnastics<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The internet has birthed a language so ridiculous, even Shakespeare<\/em> <\/span>would be like, “Y’all wildin<\/em><\/span>‘.” But hey, if we survived “YOLO<\/em><\/span>,” “bae<\/em><\/span>,” and “on fleek<\/em><\/span>,” we\u2019ll make it through this era too. So whether you\u2019re a “Good Morning WhatsApp Warrior” or a “Rizz Lord on TikTok,” one thing is certain\u2014language isn\u2019t dying, it\u2019s just vibing. \"✨\"\"💀\"\"🔥\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PS<\/span><\/em>-If you read this whole post without Googling a single slang term, you are officially cool. If not, welcome to the club. \"💀\"\"😂\"”<\/p>\n

Stay woke, stay vibing, and please, for the love of grammar, use a comma once in a while.<\/p>\n

Language evolves, slang changes, but one thing remains the same\u2014no one actually knows what \u2018yeet<\/em><\/span>\u2019 means.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Disclaimer<\/em><\/span>: No social media managers were harmed in the making of this blog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  There are two types of people in this world: Those who think \u2018SMH\u2019 means \u2018So Much Happiness\u2019 and those who know it\u2019s the sound your soul makes when your dad comments \u2018VERY NICE PIC BETA \u2019on your LinkedIn post about layoffs.”   I recently was shown a Gen Z\u2019s Instagram story that said, \u2018She … Continue reading “How Social Media Turned Us All Into Crypto Humans:A Generational Guide To Digital Dialects”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2016"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2017,"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2016\/revisions\/2017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}