Modern vocabulary has changed over time, as new words get introduced almost every month, and with this, it may be hard for some people to keep up with the slang.
The start of quarantine in January of 2020 marked the beginning of a new era.
Most people went with online gaming and social media as their key way of communicating with others. This eventually led to the rise of new games, and thus, new terms and social phrases emerged. A notable game that comes to mind is Among Us and the different slang that was produced as a result of this game.
Dylan Moreno, a North Hollywood Academy 11th grade student here, recounts his experience with slang online.
“I remember going on YouTube or Instagram, and everything was Among Us ‘brainrot.’ It was funny for a little bit, but got repetitive after a while. It’s funny to think that Among Us was super popular for like one month, then became irrelevant.”
The word “brainrot” is another word which has been gaining traction recently in slang. It essentially means that something is “rotting” your brain–due to the dumb nature of it. Many students have likely heard of this by now, with brainrot being used as a synonym for stupid or dumb.
Students here in North Hollywood have been subjected to cultural influence, with most students utilizing these words in their day-to-day conversations here at school. Rizz is another notable word which has gained popularity recently.
As a result of the growing amount of slang, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary added over 690 new words to their definition list in 2023, with “rizz” being one of those words. Adding the word “rizz” to the official Merriam-Webster dictionary has brought to light how influential social media can be.
10th-grade student Bianca Alvarez expressed her amusement at this news.
“I thought that there were certain rules for what was a word. I didn’t think ‘rizz’ of all slang would end up in the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary. It was just a silly word I would use with my friends, but with this change, I wonder if it will be an acceptable word to use in English essays in the future.”
The word “rizz” originated from Streamer/Youtuber Kai Cenat, who would often use this word on his stream. The word was essentially short for charisma, with both having almost the same meaning. The word spread from streams to videos to video games and, eventually, to real-life usage.
As new words and phrases continue to be developed, modern slang will become more and more complex. Who knows just how confusing slang might be in the future?
