Isn't there a lot of internet slang to express negativity? There's actually more to it.
If you've been long enough on the internet, you've probably seen monstrosities like these:
L + ratio + didn't ask + fell off + cringe + touch grass + no rizz + no aura + no bitches + unfunny + canceled + stay mad + cope + owned + rekt + reverse UNO + git gud + clap + seethe + skill issue + unbased + GG + get a job + yikes + baka + free + NFT owner + get stickbugged + maidenless + ur a kid + stfu
And you are very likely wondering, what kind of asshole in their right mind would write something like that?
I know you will probably unlikely take this seriously, but there may exist a rational explanation to this.
You need to think like a zoomer (Gen Z and Gen Alpha) would. What are they trying to achieve with such message? If you think such meme buzzwords have no meaning or just exist to be aggressive, you probably don't want to think about it deep enough.
If there is a meaning, what could it be? Let's speculate, and you can see there's a lot of possibilities.
- Subculture signaling: Some verbal memes are really obscure and normal people would never use them in a conversation. When a zoomer uses memes like these, they look at how the recipient will respond. If they reply with memes as well, they can assume they share a lot in common, being one of the "permanently online", and can talk about shared interests later.
- Cultural currency: Knowledge is power. While knowing what each buzzwords means feels useless, on the internet being meme-literate is a sign of worth and shows who is caught up with the latest trends, which can spawn on almost daily basis. Each meme word actually does have an origin and own implications in a conversation. If you don't understand what the other person is talking about, they will see you as someone not worth their further attention or as an easy target of mockery.
- Humorous aggression: Negativity is intentionally hyperbolic and absurd, so for those in the know this comes off more as clever than insulting. While it does have a point to be mean, it's also recognized as a kind of wit expression. It's often hard to tell, but meta or post-ironic comedy is implied. Multiple words being chained up is visually impressive on its own and provokes a competitive spirit by seeing who knows more words. Some may even intentionally defer to this to mock online conversations conceptually before switching to another tactic.
- Asserting confidence: For many, this is a defensive strategy to appear less vulnerable by using what they think is valued online. The internet can be a "dunk or get dunked on" world where authentic emotions are discouraged, so insecurities can be hidden by a mask of ironic humor.
- Verbal combat: Some can use these to "out-meme" people they are confronting by showing themselves as more fluent in internet lexicon by volume and being more topical. In this regard, it's not too different from Flyting, Disputation (look those up), or freestyle rap battles.
This sounds alien mainly because it's pretty much a whole paragraph of inside-jokes. For those not being around certain circles, this may appear like kids are consumed by "brainrot" and are normalizing hostility, but it's just a new generation terminology. If you think back, you were probably confusing your old parents too with technical terms like operating system components, 1337-speak, or 4chan lang, that they couldn't make sense of.
Well, there is a point that the line between socialization and harassment is blurry and negativity has became casual, but there are also other factors in there. Another issue is that such trend requires people to keep up with the times and seek more short-term content to consume they may not even really like.
The reality of the situation is that subculture slang will only continue to proliferate. It's always been a thing, and TikTok and Twitter spreading it don't actually make this new or unique. It's a predictable cultural phenomenon and evolution of language, and it's unwise to fall behind just because it sounds annoying.
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