The Trend of #
The trend of hash tags (#) started out harmlessly. They first originated on the social networking site Twitter in the year 2009, followed by Instagram in the year 2011 and finally on Facebook in the year 2013. However, with time hash tags have become a fashion, so much so that people have started using them in their regular conversations. And as is always the case with everything on the internet, its time for hash tags to face the repercussions.
A new video of Jimmy Fallon’s talk show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon featuring Justin Timberlake went viral last week. Garnering more than eighteen million likes (and still counting), in this video we see Timberlake and Fallon making fun of the people who use hash tags. Watch:
The video begins with the duo talking about mundane things like cookies and television shows, and as they proceed the number of hash tags just keeps on increasing, until their conversation sounds nothing less than gibberish. My personal favorites from the hash tags that they used are #PurpleIsTheNewBlack, #DebraDebra and #Lolololololololololol.
Sounds hilarious isn’t it—#Rofl? But sadly this is the reality. With the previously harmless symbol infiltrating our daily conversations, this is exactly where the English language is headed—#Gibberish. While the hash tag users think it’s fashionable to speak like this, what they don’t realize is that they sound #stupid and #ridiculous. And while Fallon and Timberlake take a dig at these people, the inventor of hash tags Chris Messina feels #Ashamed.
He says, “The sort of prideful fear that I have is that what [Fallon] depicted is actually how teenagers are talking now…. That’s not something I had really anticipated and now that I’m here I’m kind of like, ‘Oh my God… what have I done?’”
When Messina first presented the idea of hash tags to Evan Williams, the owner of twitter, he rejected it out-and-out saying that Twitteratis won’t use it as it’s “far too nerdy”. However, Messina says that he decided to keep the idea to himself, but with time “… [the] thought virus ended up infecting so many people around the world that now, in some strange way, we are all nerds I guess.” #Nerds
I think Messina would agree with me if I say that this video depicts what the future of communication is going to be like, the thought of which frankly threatens me. Not to mention that the evolution of the English language isn’t looking bright either. #Agree?
Well, at least one person is sure to agree with me, Questlove, as he bursts onto the stage at the end of this video telling Fallon and Timber to “#Shut the f*** up!” #ThatsTheWayToGoYo.
And that’s exactly what I would want to say to someone who talks in hashtags. What about you?
Shraddha Jandial
First the sms language, then the trend of using smilies—thanks to Facebook—and now the trend of hashtags, is there an end to it? Is this the end of regular conversation? Write your opinions in the comment box below.
Image Source [http://www.brandwatch.com/wp-content/uploads/brandwatch/hashtags.jpg]