Whutz the tea siszt?

: A LITERATURE REVIEW ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP OF

SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE GEN Z SLANG

Submitted to:

MS. ROSSEL A. MANGARON

Instructor

In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for

ELE 122 (Language, Culture and Society)

Submitted by:
Isabella Robe P. Salila

August 2023
 Abstract
Generation Z refers to the generation following the millennials, they are
generation that has been raised during rise the internet and social media. Since
language is constantly evolving, the previous study demonstrated the type of
language that so often changes even faster than the rest: slang. Every generation
has its own unique slang words, and these terms seem to spring up faster than many
people can keep up with, especially nowadays through the help of social media. In
this literary review which prioritizes identifying, evaluating, and interpreting qualitative
data patterns, the search was thorough, the appraisal did not contain a quality rating,
the synthesis was narrative, and the analysis was thematic. At the end of this
literature review, it is found that: the size of technological devices, as well as the
character limitations of certain social media sites has, affected the length of the
words Gen Zers choose to type. This in turn contributes to the increased use of
abbreviations and acronyms, which many people have begun to use outside of
texting or social media; there are instances that Gen Zers unintentionally create
communicative barrier when they use these slangs during informal conversations.
There are also some instances that these words are even used in their formal
writing; and Gen Z words are mostly distorted words deliberately coined to appear
trendy. However, it may affect the language learning of the students negatively
especially to those who are not fully aware of its correct spelling and may be adopted
and accepted by many as its correct form.

Keywords: Social Media, Gen Z slang, and Language.

1. Introduction

Language has become increasingly important in understanding the society

and its social practice (Dissanayake, 2018). Language can either unite or separate
people in society. In other words, the evolution of communication landscapes also
shapes social and cultural relations through communication technology. Some
concerns involving the use of language as the primary communication system mostly
rely on disseminating information to different types of audiences (Debenport, 2017).
As the undisputed medium for interchanging messages, language constantly
changes from time to time. Its dynamic nature is different from the other end nature
of communication, which is static and remains unchanged (Myskow, 2018).
Language and communication always work together in literally every aspect of
human life. As one of the most basic human needs. communication has a thriving
relationship with language (Akmajian et al., 2017).

One of the most dynamic and revolutionized medium of conveying messages

through language and communication is social media (Reinhardt, 2019). The advent
of social media has brought disruptive and significant changes to the identity of its
users (Georgakopoulou, 2017), It has significantly impacted human behavior and
attitudes, including youth language attitudes as the most frequent social media
users. Also, social media plays a vital role in the everyday use of the youth language
and communication. Indeed, when youth communicate with their idiosyncratic style
in a particular genre, language is so closely intertwined that people can hardly
identify the differences (Barron, 2021).

Generation Z (aka Gen Z, iGen, or centennials), refers to the generation that

was born between 1997-2012, following millennials. This generation has been raised
on the internet and social media, with some of the oldest finishing college by 2020
and entering the workforce (Meola, 2023). Members of Gen Z are more racially and
ethnically diverse than any previous generation, and they are on track to be the most
well-educated generation yet. They are also digital natives who have little or no
memory of the world as it existed before smartphones (Parker and Igielnik, 2020).
Filipino Gen Zs are spending more time on devices than books. Screen time impacts
their attention spans, vocabulary and academic performance. Still, it also brings with
it all the advantages of knowing when to scroll, double click, long press, how to
navigate a search engine, and this sixth sense of theirs – how to SEO or Search
Engine Optimization (Frondoso, 2023). In Gen Z slang words, you will notice that
they are mostly derived from the English language. Most of these words do not have
a direct translation in the Filipino language. They just usually change the spelling to
make it sound more Filipino or Tagalog (Aglibot, 2023).

Here are some Filipino Gen Z Slang Words:

Filipino Gen Z Slang Words Meaning

Triggered whatever it is the person saw or

experienced, led her/him to an
immediate state of anger
Flex Showing off

Tea Refers to gossip

Forda Ferson Filipinos use this slang word in different

contexts and situations, indicating a
purpose
For Today's Videow It is an expression that bloggers mostly
use in their vlogs. But now, Gen Z used
this when they are sharing something
Dasurv Means “deserve” but make it more
trendy and modern
Naur This is just an exaggerated and
dramatic way of saying “no” that is
inspired by Australians
Korique Expressions that is used to agree. From
the word “correct
Awit It means “song” in English when
translated from the Filipino language.
However, on social media, “awit” is used
as a shorthand for “aw, ang sakit”
Guize It means guys but Gen Zs changed the
spelling to make it more timely
Periodt The original meaning of the word period
 prevails. However, the 't' has been
added for further emphasis
Dogshow The practice of making jokes about or
memes about a famous person in order
to make fun of them satirically
Estetik Exactly what it says: that something or
someone is attractive
(Source: https://filipinotimes.net/feature/2019/09/19/pinoy-speak-101-gen-x-
millennials-slang/)

1.1. Significance of the study

This literature review was conducted to understand more how does social
media affect the language of the Gen Z and its effect to the society. Moreover, to
further understand the risks of continuous usage of the Gen Z slang.

1.2. Scope and limitation of the study

This literature review is focused on the relationship between the Gen Z slang
words and how does social media affects them. This literature review further
discussed the effects of the Gen Z slang words to the society and its risks upon the
continuous usage of these slang words.

1.3. Research Questions

The research questions (RQs) are the following:

RQ1: How does social media affects the formulation of the gen Z words in the
Philippines?

RQ2: How does Gen Z words affects daily conversation?

RQ3: What are the risks of continuous usage of Gen Z slang?

2. Methods
Identifying included and excluded articles

The selection of inclusion and exclusion criteria was made with the objective
of finding the most suitable articles. The inclusion and exclusion criteria of articles
will be based specifically to the relationship of Gen Z slangs and social media and
was tailored to this particular study by the author.

The inclusion criteria used in the search for relevant studies were:

 The article is an article and not a book chapter, letter, or abstract.

 The article is written in English.
 The article refers to the relationship between Filipino Gen Z slang and
social media or any of the both as the focus.

The inclusion criteria used in the search for relevant studies was :

 The article is only accessible behind a paywall.

Search for relevant studies

The search for relevant studies was carried out mainly through digital
research databases to search for relevant studies. The keyword used to search for
related studies to review was “relationship between Gen Z slang and social media”,
and the following research databases were used: Google Scholar, Science Direct,
and Research Gate. The search was done for articles written in English and for
articles published in proceedings or journals. Science Direct and Research Gate
were chosen because of their ranking as academic research databases, good
coverage of studies relevant for our review, and based and previous experience.
Google Scholar was chosen because it is accessible to anyone with an internet
connection. The disadvantages of using Google Scholar were its coverage is wide-
ranging but not comprehensive and does not allow users to limit results to either
peer reviewed or full text materials or by discipline. At this stage, the articles were
checked. If an article fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the pdf and site
data were downloaded, and the citation data.
3. Results

In this portion, the result will be presented accordingly based on the research
questions presented.

3.1. RQ1: the effects of social media on the formulation of Filipino Gen Z slang.

Social media is embedded into the fabric of each Gen Zers lives (Alves,
2023). Generation Z has grown up in an even more interconnected world, with the
rise of online platforms and communication. This has expanded their perspectives,
interactions, and relatability on a global (Schlee, et al., 2020). A 2022 survey by
Morning Consult found that 54% of Gen Zers said they spend at least four hours
daily on social media, and 38% spend even more time than that. Their most used
social platforms are YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat. The size of
technological devices, as well as the character limitations of certain social media
sites has, affected the length of the words Gen Zers choose to type. This in turn
contributes to the increased use of abbreviations and acronyms, which many people
have begun to use outside of texting or social media. Social media and texting have
impacted language immensely. In that sense, as technology progresses and social
media develops further, our language will also continue to evolve. (Sturgeon, 2020).
Through the familiarity of Gen Zers with internet slang can be attributed to their
extensive exposure and immersion in the digital realm. Growing up in an era
characterized by ubiquitous technology and widespread use of social media, Gen
Zers have fully embraced online platforms, actively engaged in digital
communication, and become deeply entrenched in the digital culture. Consequently,
they are more likely to encounter and adopt new internet slangs and expressions
that emerge within the rapidly evolving online landscape (Salas, et al., 2023).
3.2. RQ2: the effects of Gen Z slang on the daily conversation.

Generation Z have their own slang and lingo that can sometimes sound like a
totally different language (Liles, 2023). Gen Z slang is somewhat goes beyond slang
and internet-speak abbreviations. Gen Z, used to informal, near-constant contact,
spurns the prim email in favour of a quick Slack message. But that can be a tough
pill to swallow for older generations, who are accustomed to dictating the
professional rules of communication (Seariac, 2023). There are instances that Gen
Zers unintentionally create communicative barrier when they use these slangs during
informal conversations. There are also some instances that these words are even
used in their formal writing. It has been observed that the expanding social media
slang among the students especially in their social media posts that they are using
other terminologies that are called Gen Z slang which creates language barrier
(Jeresano and Carretero, 2022). If you aren’t belong to this generation, it can be
tough to figure out what those words actually mean. You may know the origins of
popular slang words, but Gen Z slang may be a whole new ballpark for you (Kuehn,
2023).

3.3 RQ3: the risks of continuous usage of Filipino Gen Z slangs.

It is not unusual for slang words to exist. Over time, languages evolve through
the adoption of new words and decay or changes in the meaning of existing words.
Isolated populations often manipulate languages to fit their needs, and as decades
and centuries pass, the previous version of a language may even be unintelligible to
those who now speak it (Randolph, 2022). Gen Z are more confident when they are
using their language
to communicate and they become more engaged in conversation if they are using it
(Jeresano and Carretero, 2022). Gen z slang tried to distort the spelling of the
original word to express a twist on the old word to make it somehow new. This
implies that they spell the words as how they sound. It validates the findings of
Nazman, et.al. (2020) which reveals that younger generation distorts spelling in
terms of its inflections so as to fit some sounds. Distorted words were deliberately
coined to appear trendy. However, it may affect the language learning of the
students negatively especially to those who are not fully aware of its correct spelling
and may be adopted and accepted by many as its correct form.
4. Discussion of Results

Filipino is the national language of the Philippines, for the reason that
Philippines has a lot of ethnics that have a different culture and also language. That
is why they use Filipino language to unite everyone in the country. Although each
tribe or region has its own language, they still know and use Filipino when they talk
to another people that come from different tribe. Nowadays, due to social media
influence, new words are arising and become slowly part of our daily conversations.
Gen Zers used there slangs oftenly even in different settings and most of the time it
leads to miscommunication, especially if the person involved in the conversation
does not belong to the same generation.

The Gen Z slang language is increasing day by day because young people
always use it. Besides it, social media is one of the reasons why this is can happen.
As time goes by, digital technology is increasing too. Anyone can access whatever is
it in social media. Besides, the access of social media is become most large, we can
communicate with other people in other country easily using social media. That is
why many people are using the social media to communicate with their friends,
family, and etc. Communication becomes easier through social media. Social media
also have its down side, one of them is the formation of Gen Z slang. Gen Z slang is
a combination of several languages which are then used as sentences by the
younger generation. At this point, it is not impossible that the use of the Gen Z slang
will increase if the reach of social media expands. The use of slang continues to
increase according to the data taken. The use of slang continues to grow because
Gen Zers felt that slang is easier to use and easier to understand than standard
Filipino language. Therefore, the use of slang in the Philippines continues to
increase, because basically most of the Filipino population are young people and
children where they are familiar with social media and even use it every day. In this
way, the correctness of word usage and spelling will be threatened. Gen Zers and
preceding generations might forget to use the words correctly because Gen Zers use
words that don’t have same translation to what it really means. Grammar and
spellings are also at risk because the current generation is more comfortable or
accustomed to using new words formed. They might use it in daily conversation and
might further use it in formal settings if we won’t do precautions.

5. Conclusion

Based on the different articles gathered, it can be concluded that social media
plays a huge part upon formulating Gen Z slang. Generation Z has grown up during
the rise of online platforms and communication. Gen Zers mostly spent their time on
different social media platforms. Technological devices nowadays are very
accessible. Moreover, some social media cites has character limitations. These
affected the length of the words Gen Zers choose to type. Due to this, the use of
abbreviations and acronyms increases, which many people have begun to use
outside of texting or social media. In Gen Z slang words, you will also notice that
they are mostly derived from the English language though do not translate to what
the word really means. Also, Gen Zers sometimes just change the spelling to make it
sound more Filipino. As the result, miscommunication usually happens when Gen
Zers use these words on a daily conversation. The miscommunication occurs when
a Gen Z communicate with someone that do not belong to the same generation.
This can also be a threat in the proper or correct usage of the language. Gen Z slang
tried to distort the spelling of the original word to express a twist on the old word to
make it trendy. This implies that they spell the words as how they sound, just like
how Filipino words are—they are spoken as how they are spelled. Moreover, due to
this distortion of words, it may affect the language learning of the students negatively
especially to those students who are not fully aware of the word and how it is
spelled. It may be adopted and accepted by many as its correct form if it will be used
continuously. It has been recommended that Gen Z slang may be used as a basis in
understanding the behavior and culture of younger generation. Teachers should also
advise that Gen Z slang can be used in informal settings but not in official writing.
Teachers also must introduce the correct usage of those Gen Z slang words’ roots to
help the students to not apply those Gen Z slang words into formal writing or
conversations.
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