How the creator economy is making you talk like the internet

What It Covers

Social media linguist Adam Alexic explains how algorithms shape language evolution through viral trends, platform censorship workarounds like "unalive," and creator incentives that prioritize engagement over authentic communication across TikTok, Instagram, and other platforms.

Key Questions Answered

• •Platform censorship adaptation: Words like "unalive" replace "kill" on TikTok to avoid algorithmic suppression, spreading into offline contexts where middle school students use it in classroom essays about Hamlet and Jekyll and Hyde without knowing its origin.
• •Viral acceleration mechanics: Words like "riz" go from complete obscurity to Oxford Dictionary Word of the Year in twelve months through algorithmic repetition rewards, trending audios, and hashtag metadata that creators deliberately exploit to boost video performance and earnings.
• •Influencer accent engineering: Educational content creators speak rapidly with stressed words and second-person pronouns to maximize retention metrics, while lifestyle influencers use uptalk and rising tones—both evolved from Valley Girl speech patterns optimized for one-sided algorithmic communication.
• •Identity commercialization through labels: Platforms profit by creating hyper-specific aesthetic categories like "cottagecore" or "goblincore" as trending metadata, encouraging users to identify with and purchase products for these algorithm-generated identities that replace traditional demographics like age or gender.