The Evolution of Internet Slang

Language is a fascinating subject, not least because the words that we use are constantly evolving. Factors ranging from demographic changes to fashion help to drive the evolution of our language.

Perhaps the most important factor of all though – at least in recent times – has been the internet. This has had two main effects: making language evolve more rapidly and globalising it.

New slang expressions emerge from internet subcultures, before being absorbed into the mainstream at lightning pace. And because everyone uses the internet, it doesn’t matter which part of the world an expression originates in – we all adopt it.

Sometimes this slang comes from pop culture instead, for example the word ‘brat’. That started as the title of a 2024 pop album, before hitting the wider culture thanks to a viral tweet during the US election. Again, the internet made the difference though.

This article will take a look at how slang has evolved during the internet era.

Different Types of Slang

It could be argued that three different types of slang have emerged under the influence of the internet. The first of them consists of a number of snappy abbreviations.

Some examples of that kind of internet slang include ‘YOLO’ (You Only Live Once), ‘LMAO’ (Laughing My Ass Off), ‘FOMO’ (Fear of Missing Out) and ‘YMMV’ (Your Mileage May Vary. All of these regularly feature in social media posts, as well as during conversations in forums and chat rooms.

It is likely that they developed due to the character restrictions imposed by social media. Those limits meant a form of communication shorthand was needed to circumvent them.

The slang abbreviations migrated beyond social media to the wider internet though. They are an example of how slang evolves as a creative response to internet rules.

A second kind of online slang focuses on broadening the meaning of existing words. For example, the word ‘trending’ appeared as a result of social media. It is an offshoot of the word ‘trend’, but that is a noun whereas ‘trending’ is a verb. The former means a fashion whereas the latter means hitting the news thanks to social media.

Then there is the example of the word ‘slots’. To most people now, the word refers to the games known as online slots, but that has not always been the case.

In the pre-internet era, ‘slot’ or ‘slots’ could have a couple of meanings. It might refer to fitting something into a schedule (finding a time slot), or a slim physical space for putting an object into.

That latter meaning was how slot machines got their name. It was a reference to the slot that players put coins into so that they could bet on the games.

Now that the games are digital, no such coin slot exists – but the name lives on. It shows how a slang term can become synonymous with a particular thing; so it continues to be used even when the original meaning is no longer relevant.

The last kind of internet slang consists of words invented to describe digital behaviours. Examples of it would be ‘cyber-bullying’ ‘tweeting’ and ‘selfies’.

Some of these are just variants on existing words (and behaviours) whereas others are completely new.

How Internet Slang Developed

Online slang has developed alongside the internet itself. The net is a very different place compared with the 1990s and so is the terminology used.

In the early days, the main way that people communicated was in chat rooms. It was slower and grouped people together in small communities. You joined a chat room if you were interested in the subject under discussion.

What that meant was that the slang used did not reach the wider public with the same frequency or speed. Boards like the infamous 4Chan were where many popular types of online slang – such as memes – first appeared.

Memes deploy a mix of imagery and text to make satirical or subversive points through comedy. They were used in chat rooms and message boards, but it took social media to make them widely known.

They reflect the way that online communication is evolving in this era of mass internet usage. We are witnessing a move away from pure text in that communication.

In addition to memes, another example of that is the gif. This is an ultra-short snippet of video used to communicate a particular emotion or response.

Social media platforms have again made the use of gifs commonplace and they transcend barriers like language differences. That makes them an effective way to get a point across on a global communication system like the internet.

There are different kinds of internet slang and it continues to evolve in intriguing ways. We will have to wait to see where it goes next.