Grammar Going Extinct?  Young Adults Think Grammar Don’t Matter (insert eye roll)

They say Latin is a “dead language.” Well, English may join it one day, as a new study reveals that the majority of young adults butcher the language in their everyday messages.

It’s no surprise that thanks to social media, young adults have killed the English language to the point where older generations can’t understand them

Less than a quarter of Gen Z use periods, commas, and quotation marks in their casual communications. In comparison, more than half of people (55%) over the age of 65 say they’re always sticklers for proper grammar while texting or posting online.

Gen Z will make an effort to use correct punctuation in text messages, however, this tails off on social media platforms with less than 10 percent bothering with these formalities on Snapchat and TikTok…

Most people say it simply takes too long (22%) and that as long as the meaning is conveyed, the technical accuracy of the writing doesn’t matter anymore. Just half of Gen Z and Millennials bother to differentiate between “their,” “there,” and “they’re” — but this rises with age to 80 percent among people over 65.

BTW, abbreviations are more popular than ever

Instead, the study by OnePoll found that younger generations are much more enthusiastic about abbreviations. Two-thirds of those under 35 regularly use abbreviations, compared to just 21 percent of those over 65.

Interestingly, all generations use common abbreviations such as LOL (laugh out loud), OMG (oh my God), and BTW (by the way). Younger people, however, are far more likely to use a variety of phrases such as IKR (I know right), NP (no problem), and IMO (in my opinion).

For example, 56 percent of Gen Z regularly use IKR compared to just five percent of people over 45. Other lesser-known abbreviations used by younger generations include LMK (let me know), OMW (on my way), and BC (because).