Part 6/13:

The internet’s influence has been profound. Once, culture was more regional or based on entertainment like movies or sports. Now, cultural trends can appear and disappear in days. The rapid-fire nature of online communication means new terms can explode in popularity and then fade away, leaving older listeners confused.

For example, TikTok memes and Twitch inside jokes have bled into real-world speech, making it hard for outsiders to keep up. Content creators and streamers produce inside jokes, which then enter wider meme culture. References like "Gooning," "Jelking," or "Grooming" take on new, often nonspecific meanings within these communities. This insularity means that what may seem like innocent slang to a teenager might be inscrutable to parents or older adults.