When we were children, we grew up with stories and classics from all over the world. One of the most famous was Aesop and his fables. He made us read dialogues of animals, while teaching us some life lessons, whether we understood them at the time or not.
The allegories he used were necessary to express the thoughts and teachings of the stories. Therefore, they were sometimes hidden under the words or the whole story. Nevertheless, they were well designed and well served. That is why they were studied from time to time.
At that time, in the Soviet era, the pressure on writers was greater than ever. Obviously, the government monitored all books to find something against their idea. Over time, they adopted this Aesopian language to convey their messages discreetly. They used allegories, similes, different words to express themselves. After all, art has to be controversial, so should authors. And they wanted to use satire to point out the visible ills of society or government issues, using invented words and hidden meanings.
If you have read one of the most famous books, 1984, then you have already realised what it is all about. Because the Orwellian approach to free thought, society and welfare showed us the prohibitions and punishments that would come to anyone who thought differently.
In one of my articles I talked about how time brings its changes, especially about the way we think and we use language. It always evolves in different ways. It’s an evolution we can’t stop, but we can either accept it within ourselves or simply not be a part of it by not paying too much attention.
Being part of its evolution, we keep coming up with newer words or new meanings for the same words. We even choose the most popular or globally influential words for each year.
It is well known that after the widespread use of the internet and the abundance of computers that allow us to connect to the world, things have gone crazier than ever. It is a high point for humanity if you think about it. Nothing has had such a two-way impact on our lives. Everything has been online for two, maybe three decades now, after it became normal in public.
When that kind of change happens, it tends to happen quickly. New people to meet, new topics to talk about, news from around the world to discuss… Everyone has an opinion about everything and everyone knows everything. Right?
Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash
Sometimes we can’t understand each other, even though we use a common language that is widely accepted around the world. The way you think in your language is the way you speak. That is understandable. If only we could create something in common to understand each other, whether we speak the same language or not… Well, the magic of the internet helps us with that too, no doubt.
I suggest you look at some of these words, which you probably never heard until you came across them by chance, but some of the older ones you may know are like this: Meme, streaming, browser, viral, blog, clickbait, troll, emoji, podcast, deepfake, cyberbullying… All these words have suddenly become part of our daily lives. One day you opened your laptop and visited your favourite website or social media site and you came across one of these words. What were they? Where did they come from? We did not question them very much. Instead, we adapted. Because we had what they called “FOMO”, fear of missing out. “If I’m going to be on the internet, I have to know.”
Let’s go back. Why are they created? Sometimes some communities want attention, to be known. Sometimes a word goes “viral” as an inside joke and now you know it and use it in your everyday life. When your friends ask you what the word means, you judge them for their ignorance, or you feel cool because you know something they don’t. You tease them with a mystery, feel superior for a while and indulge your ego.
When I thought about it, I told myself that this attitude was in the past, in the early days of the internet. But no, I was wrong, it is still a thing. At the end of the day it is all about the characteristics of people. No matter what era it is, people will feel similar but in different ways. Fame will always be an itch that silly people will want to scratch. People will always want to catch up with the terminology that others are using. Showing off your internet knowledge and not seen as ignorant will always be cool. Yes, nerd is the new cool for a while now. There are people out there who consider themselves “internet veterans”. They live on it. So we can clearly say that the internet is literally a part of our lives and the most influential technology that has ever existed.
I just can’t keep up with all the words. Maybe I’m tired of them, maybe I don’t care, or maybe I’m just getting older for the newer ones. Sense of humour certainly changes from generation to generation, and from country to country. Things stop making sense after a while, or you can’t compete with the logic (if there is any) behind it all.
Photo by Fa Barboza on Unsplash
“Algospeak” is a term for these made-up words. Although I would like to say that they are generally for the digital age, I think they belong more to social media. I began to feel that our understanding of the structure of the internet is shifting towards social media platforms rather than the millions of other existing websites. At first we were surrounded by single-purpose applications. Then they evolved into a box where you can find multiple functions in just one. We are back to the authoritarian way of thinking. With everyone in one place, there may be more conflict than usual. In fact, it is inevitable. It is in the nature of humanity.
To avoid these conflicts, people come up with new concepts. Again we had to hide, talk in allegories, and try to be kinder with our words so as not to hurt others. So, strange-looking words were born. Some may be useful, some may cause even more trouble, but their common point is to hide the real intentions and true thoughts you have in mind, which are against a subject or a person/community.
Personally, I think that the challenge (of the concept of freedom of thought) is not only against the ideas of the government in reality, if we look at all these dystopian novels about freedom. It is also against the people.
The idea of freedom of speech is supposed to bring acceptance and respect for others. Because if you are free, then so are others. But we obviously lack that empathy. The anonymity (at least to other people) that the internet grants us allows us to wield the power of aggression. We tend to attack others without thinking, even though the core of the concept is indeed about thinking.
Speaking more and thinking less has become a better approach for everyone who feels depressed by everything in their daily lives. We focus more on freedom of speech than freedom of thought. However, a balance is needed to be a more competent and reasonable human being. If we want to be taken seriously and respected, we should learn how to do that first. And we need to remember that we always have the option of walking away from a disrespectful and aggressive conversation, even if we seem to be “losing” that conversation from the perspective of a third party. Our mental health is more important than silly arguments.
In the end, there is a solid answer to why we think and talk. To feel better and to keep our sanity. Imagine not being able to talk for years. You would let it all out when you finally found the opportunity to talk. Imagine thinking every single thing other people say. Does that sound healthy?
We have to communicate, but we have to do it properly and as humanely as possible. Because I think the reason we have these new words is also because we don’t know how to express ourselves better. We lack the education, we lack the thoughts to put them into a comprehensible argument and logic. First we must listen to ourselves, then we must learn to agree to disagree. Only then can we achieve a sense of togetherness.
Articles that might interest you:
Comments