it also infuriates me because a lot of times it’s non-Black people run AAVE down to the ground and then people think reduce it by calling it "gen z slang". for example, if you know anything about Gabbie Hanna and her recent youtube apology, she would say “lick back” over and over in essentially the exact opposite way it’s meant to be used. and this is what bothers me about TikTok is that people take our AAVE and turn it into nonsense that then gets laughed at by everyone who doesn’t even know its origin. another example is “gyatt” which completely lost its meaning when it became widespread.
that's not the only way in which tiktok annoys me. lilke you mentioned there are some phrases that aren't originated in AAVE, but are also run down to the ground.
yes!! I'm not American so online is really the main way I see/hear AAVE used and then I'll look up what something means cause it seems to not make sense in context (from what I know) and then I realise like of course- this person has just completely bastardised a term they don't understand
so glad i came across your piece because recently ive seen the phrase ‘do you do weddings’ commented on almost every single tiktok i come across and its bothered me endlessly. you read my mind! amazing writing too
I love a good social media rant and this was a great one. I personally HATE IT when I catch myself using a regurgitated online phrase. I read a substack post recently (the name of author escapes me 😞) where they basically talked about how social media creates this weird echo chamber of narcissism where people feel personally offended if they don’t like content. The example they used is people commenting on a recipe video for a cake “but I’m gluten intolerant, I can’t eat this?” Then… the recipe is not for you. Please move on.
Great piece!! It’s so true and the one that infuriates me most is when it’s evolved to a template for an ENTIRE VIDEO. Usually when there’s a new filter going viral and they say “Why would anyone want to know what __ they are?? that’s so dumb—“ and cut themselves off using the filter and then end it with a fake ass reaction like they didn’t roll several times for the result they wanted!! It’s actually torturous
i so get you!! it annoys me so much how an originally really sweet phrase like "im gonna hold your hand, when I say this" is now so overused and this inflationary use now lead to the phrase losing all its meaning
This is yet another thing on Substack that I'm glad someone else has written, because now I get the catharsis without the work and also I get to rest assured that other people are thinking these things so the responsibility of writing them does not fall solely on my shoulders
This is sooo true all of it, I think about this all the time, the phrase that bothers me most: “wild” like it’s fucking everywhere lol “being in your twenties is wild” “being in law school is wild” “being a mom is wild” “being an adult is wild” at one point I truly believe I was seeing this word 100 times a day
The saddest part is like exactly what you point out a couple times: you could delete the phrase and the meaning of what they’re saying would be the same . The phrase basically doesn’t even add anything lol
yesssss like if they made the same point a month ago they wouldn't have used whatever phrase and they'd still be able to make the point exactly the same. it's so obviously just to 'cash in' on the trend. it's also obviously relatively benign behaviour, it's just really irritating lol
My eye twitches every time I read “hope this helps!” These phrases often position the commenter as some sort of authority or moral high ground, when it’s like… who tf are you, userb? Loved this piece!
to me this tiktok language homogenisation phenomenon is a microcosm of how we've all become quite unoriginal. wanting to follow the crowd with trends and cores prevents us from actually expressing ourselves uniquely. we're just feed into every marketer's trend report about gen z and big corps exploit the lack of originality and the cycle goes on.
it also infuriates me because a lot of times it’s non-Black people run AAVE down to the ground and then people think reduce it by calling it "gen z slang". for example, if you know anything about Gabbie Hanna and her recent youtube apology, she would say “lick back” over and over in essentially the exact opposite way it’s meant to be used. and this is what bothers me about TikTok is that people take our AAVE and turn it into nonsense that then gets laughed at by everyone who doesn’t even know its origin. another example is “gyatt” which completely lost its meaning when it became widespread.
that's not the only way in which tiktok annoys me. lilke you mentioned there are some phrases that aren't originated in AAVE, but are also run down to the ground.
yes!! I'm not American so online is really the main way I see/hear AAVE used and then I'll look up what something means cause it seems to not make sense in context (from what I know) and then I realise like of course- this person has just completely bastardised a term they don't understand
so glad i came across your piece because recently ive seen the phrase ‘do you do weddings’ commented on almost every single tiktok i come across and its bothered me endlessly. you read my mind! amazing writing too
thank you! delighted to say I have never encountered 'do you do weddings' but I imagine that won't last long
I love a good social media rant and this was a great one. I personally HATE IT when I catch myself using a regurgitated online phrase. I read a substack post recently (the name of author escapes me 😞) where they basically talked about how social media creates this weird echo chamber of narcissism where people feel personally offended if they don’t like content. The example they used is people commenting on a recipe video for a cake “but I’m gluten intolerant, I can’t eat this?” Then… the recipe is not for you. Please move on.
are you familiar with the phrase 'bean soup'? (also yes! yes! yes!)
Great piece!! It’s so true and the one that infuriates me most is when it’s evolved to a template for an ENTIRE VIDEO. Usually when there’s a new filter going viral and they say “Why would anyone want to know what __ they are?? that’s so dumb—“ and cut themselves off using the filter and then end it with a fake ass reaction like they didn’t roll several times for the result they wanted!! It’s actually torturous
oh my god I know exactly what youre talking about, those videos are an immediate scroll for me, I can't make it through the cringe
i so get you!! it annoys me so much how an originally really sweet phrase like "im gonna hold your hand, when I say this" is now so overused and this inflationary use now lead to the phrase losing all its meaning
yes!!!
This is yet another thing on Substack that I'm glad someone else has written, because now I get the catharsis without the work and also I get to rest assured that other people are thinking these things so the responsibility of writing them does not fall solely on my shoulders
glad to be of service 🫡
This is sooo true all of it, I think about this all the time, the phrase that bothers me most: “wild” like it’s fucking everywhere lol “being in your twenties is wild” “being in law school is wild” “being a mom is wild” “being an adult is wild” at one point I truly believe I was seeing this word 100 times a day
omg 'wild' that's definitely another one!! thesaurus dot com 🥰
The saddest part is like exactly what you point out a couple times: you could delete the phrase and the meaning of what they’re saying would be the same . The phrase basically doesn’t even add anything lol
yesssss like if they made the same point a month ago they wouldn't have used whatever phrase and they'd still be able to make the point exactly the same. it's so obviously just to 'cash in' on the trend. it's also obviously relatively benign behaviour, it's just really irritating lol
Hahaha that’s why I lol’ed at your point “I’m still allowed to be annoyed” 😂😂😂
Hahahaha for real!!! I use it!!! 🤣
My eye twitches every time I read “hope this helps!” These phrases often position the commenter as some sort of authority or moral high ground, when it’s like… who tf are you, userb? Loved this piece!
yes!! it's soooo superior and soooo unjustified! thank you!!
to me this tiktok language homogenisation phenomenon is a microcosm of how we've all become quite unoriginal. wanting to follow the crowd with trends and cores prevents us from actually expressing ourselves uniquely. we're just feed into every marketer's trend report about gen z and big corps exploit the lack of originality and the cycle goes on.
i have heard this explained as “originality is hard” but even if that were true, everything you rant about still rings true