""The internet is just one big gigantic seventh grade where you are looking for the coolest kid and you're going to follow what they do without thinking real hard," Jessi Grieser, an associate professor of linguistics at the University of Michigan, told Business Insider. "The issue that we're coming into now," Grieser said, "is that it's a little easier for those insider terms to escape and eventually become separated from the group in such a way that we sometimes don't notice that that word originally came from there.""
"This sometimes results in words and phrases that originated in Black and LGBTQ+ communities being adapted by broader audiences, and often developing new meanings altogether. While the process of word adoption is the same as it has always been with previous generations, Grieser said, the speed at which it's happening is what sets the internet generations apart from their older counterparts. And although you might not know exactly what some of Gen Z's words mean, chances are they aren't using them to make fun of you, Kelly Wright, an assistant professor of linguistics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told Business Insider."
Gen Z slang changes quickly under heavy internet influence and frequently draws from Black, LGBTQ+, and gamer communities. Online social dynamics accelerate adoption, allowing insider terms to escape original groups and become detached from their cultural origins. Rapid diffusion often yields new meanings as broader audiences adapt vocabulary without always recognizing source contexts. The underlying process resembles historical generational language change but proceeds at much greater speed. Younger users generally adopt terms without malice, and awareness of popular 2025 terms like "crashing out" and "locking in" can reduce generational miscommunication.
Read at Business Insider
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