Do you know these 6 New English Verbs That Came from Social Media?
The English language is constantly evolving; you might even be contributing to this change just by using social media!
Known as “Verbing” the act of turning a noun into a verb has been common practice for years. Thanks to social media, the 21st century has itself created some peculiar verbs, and utilizing these platforms they spread like wildfire! Here are 6 common verbs that started as nouns:
To Facebook (to message someone on Facebook) – attributed to the social media platform that started it all (sorry MySpace), Facebook has become such a common tool in all of our lives, it was only natural that it transform into a verb!
To Google (to search something online) – same origin story as Facebook; although, Google itself isn’t entirely happy that its trademarked name is being used to refer to any and all search engine pursuits (even though most of these are probably conducted on Google anyway).
To Friend (to add someone on social media) – coined by Facebook, friending has quickly spread to many other social media platforms as well. Before long we may start using it to describe the act of actually befriending a person face-to-face!
To Blog (to post a short piece on any topic, online) – thanks to this verb, unofficial wanderlusts and YouTubers alike can explain what exactly it is they do for work.
To Trend (something that is currently being discussed online) – this verb has been around prior to the advent of social media. While previously it was used to describe the latest fashions, now it refers to what is currently being discussed or hashtaged on Twitter and Facebook the most. Speaking of hashtaged…
To Hashtag (to add a caption at the end of your posts as a continuation of your message) – From a simple number symbol to an all-out phenomenon; while the original purpose of hashtags on social media was to connect relevant ideas and to make it easier for people to find certain topics, we all know that they have become a form of subtle gloating to your friends (#livingthedream anyone?)
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