Monday, April 15, 2013

When did hash tags become part of our grammar and not just a symbol for number?

Okay, so I get that in the twitter world the '#' has become a thing. Thats fine I guess even though I may be one of the few people in that generation who has no clue why we use it as a grouping symbol. I really have no idea where the hashtag came from. I mean who sat there was like "oh hey I know! If I put a hashtag right before this category people will know what I'm talking about and it would just be a cool new trend!" I mean it though; who thought of this!? People will write the statement "bad day" and proceed with "#mylifesucks #collegeprobs #WTF" and so on. Why can't we write, "School is ruining my day with this surprise exam and everyone is like WTF professor?" People would read that and most likely be thinking that sucks and all those hashtag categories have been covered and we even know why your day is bad! It's a miracle! Also why does a category name have no spaces in between words? Please some one tell me, please. I can't even think of a reason why.

I think I'm getting of topic though. My main issue isn't the use of hashtag on twitter really, it's that I'm seeing it in ads on TV and well everywhere. There was a target commercial that used '#' and so many more that of course are escaping me at the moment. But how is our society supposed to grow grammatically if we use all our online 'speak' now in every day life communication. Yes the sad part is we know exactly what those symbols mean and get the point but does that make it okay? It can be argued that they are just trying to target the young generation and that is fine. However, to reach them do we need to knowingly write in improper grammar form to reach them and also further help them practice incorrect grammar? Let me know what you think. I would genuinely like to hear your thoughts.

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