Teen and early-20's girls repeatedly saying the word "like"

[Mike_Yates]

Why do girls in their teens and early-mid 20's repeatedly use the word "like" in their verbal diction?

Wasn't this something only valley girls used to do?

I've seen women up to their early 30's do this as well.

 

[Stewart_Pidd]

I've seen women up to their early 30's do this as well.

do you see thought bubbles above people's heads bro?

Stew

 

[lovecraft68]

They also say "really?" all the time now.

 

[Mike_Yates]

Like, really?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZL6XBB-umc0

 

[pollynova]

They also say "really?" all the time now.

RIGHT?

Actually, I want to chop anyone that says "RIGHT?" up into little pieces and feed them to ducks.

 

[mark_j]

Like, ya know?

 

[BabblingBrooke]

RIGHT?

Actually, I want to chop anyone that says "RIGHT?" up into little pieces and feed them to ducks.

I know, right?!

Or even better: IKR

 

[jezzilee]

I strongly dislike when people say the letters O M G or L O L , use your words. or laugh

 

[Jonathon_Parker]

I havent met these girls.

 

[Conager]

RIGHT?

Actually, I want to chop anyone that says "RIGHT?" up into little pieces and feed them to ducks.

I know, right?

I strongly dislike when people say the letters O M G or L O L , use your words. or laugh

Elle. Oh, Elle...

Oh, Em. Gee...

I agree. You should always write out Eleanor and Emily.

 

[PTWaters1]

Elle. Oh, Elle...

Oh, Em. Gee...

I agree. You should always write out Eleanor and Emily.

Ok, that was clever and made me laugh Of course, another perspective on this notion is that "lol" and "omg" are just symbols, much like =D (emoji), that simply represent an action or emotion.

All words, no matter what the language, are simply symbols that convey the thoughts and/or feelings of peoples involved in conversation. In text, however, the non-verbal aspect is stripped away, leaving a void for emotional and action context. So while "omg" and "=0" might mean similar things in context, they are simply symbols for the expression of emotion.

That being said, there are WAY too many "shorthanders" out there that reduce far too many things to letters and numbers (before vs b4, or mate vs m8). I do find that a bit annoying since they are making it hard for me to read dammit!

 

[JinSun]

It's the evolution of language. Only difference now is that it's been allowed to speed up this process due to social media outlets and globalization.

The hegemony of the meme is a scary thing, but I don't have to tell you 60's kids that.

 

[Mike_Yates]

There is no reason for any woman over the age of 30 to verbally speak like they are some 16 year old girl in high school texting one of their friends about some boy that they have a crush on.

 

[JinSun]

There is no reason for any woman over the age of 30 to verbally speak like they are some 16 year old girl in high school texting one of their friends about some boy that they have a crush on.

I'm sure there's plenty of reasons as to why they do it Mikey, otherwise they wouldn't do it.

 

[PTWaters1]

There is no reason for any woman over the age of 30 to verbally speak like they are some 16 year old girl in high school texting one of their friends about some boy that they have a crush on.

While I would certainly prefer that no one speaks with anything other than a proper vocabulary (regardless of the language), written language does tend to have a fanbase that prefers to shortcut many things.