Adam Aleksik

I don't think middle schoolers are suffering from brain rot, because younger generations always latch on to new slang as a way to build identity, and the older generations always say, ah, you're ruining the language.

But just like the people who were saying cool and high five back in the day, the middle schoolers saying Riz and Yacht and Skibbity Toilet aren't going to be incapable of writing an essay.

I don't think our vocabulary is being corrupted by the commercialization of our language.

We've already been using brand names like Kleenex and Google in everyday conversations, so Cottagecore isn't about to turn us into mindless consumer drones.

I don't even think we're dangerously normalizing incel rhetoric.

If anything, our slang is built on a shared mockery of incel ideas.

When a kid says something like, I'm so burrito-pilled, they're not saying that because they're black-pilled, but because the underlying idea is making fun of how incels talk.

In fact, I think each of these words is a beautiful, colorful addition to the English language that reflects the diverse cultural moment we're all in.

But I do think we should be aware.

We should be aware when the way we're talking may have been conditioned by the algorithm.

We should be aware when the words we're using may have been engineered to sell us things.

We should be aware when our language regurgitates extremist rhetoric, and we should be aware when that language can be used to harm other people.

We should be aware of etymology in general because it helps us better understand who we are today.

We should be aware.

And with that, I have just one final piece of slang for you.

It's a common phrase used by younger people when we finish a long-winded explanation of something.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.