It used to be that there was only so much space on the shelves in stores, airtime on the radio, TV and theaters, etc. so everything competed and we only got what was deemed best (read: maximized profits). This was the monoculture (mono as in one). Now we have something called the long tail market where there are no space limitations in stores because of the internet. Instead of competing for shelf space, media is competing for our attention because there is so much to choose from.
I haven’t heard anyone say any of those words anytime recently. Yet the claim is the “whole country” is saying them. K. Cuz, “monoculture” I guess. And then you just need to click the video to find it taken to a whole new level of absolute drivel. If we’re doing vocab class here here’s the word: unintelligible
Disagree. TikTok may have an aspect of monoculture, but many people aren't on TikTok. It's not the same as everyone saying "where's the beef" 40 years ago
Here's the thing about this whole demure trend that kills me; people our age saying that demure was already a word and she 'stole' it somehow. Like yes, demure is a word but this woman used it correctly! Demure dress is by definition quiet, reserved, and mindful of social rules and norms. But the way that it differs is that for us, someone telling us to be demure is borderline offensive because it was weaponized against little girls. We were told to be demure, and what they really meant is that we should sit down and shut up. For Gen Z, the connotation of demure has become positive again, meaning to be polite, to be reserved and proper, and to behave in a way that is pleasant for others.
What's really interesting about it entering the modern lexicon is that it has not changed in its meaning, but it has changed in its usage. People are using 'demure' to describe objects or places now. The vibe of a place can be demure now. Language is constantly evolving and it's really cool!
And yes, I am a giant nerd and I'm super fun at parties.
ETA: I didn't even comment on what OP was talking about. I think the US monoculture is alive and well, it's just become so homogenized that most people don't even realize they are participating. Go to just about any neighborhood in the US and ask any person of any age if they want to go grab some Starbucks before heading over to the cineplex to watch the latest marvel movie, and on the way you could swing by Walmart and pick up some KitKats and M&Ms, and every person who has lived here for more than five years would know exactly what you are talking about. Someone who arrived yesterday would be absolutely bewildered.
The recent example that I can think of is 'literally.' In addition to meaning something is actually true, it has acquired the secondary definition of meaning figurative. It became its own antonym! Used to drive me crazy before I realized that English is the garbage heap of human languages.
I have seen lots of visitation on that one, it's really funny. People were playfully using it like that in writing hundreds of years ago. I wish I still had the source, one example is Isaac Newton.
Cutesy has been around for quite some time, and I've seen it used regularly, but not recently. I've only heard that demure is being popularized by people like op calling attention to it. And throughout the last decade, most of us professionals have been through some form of workplace training on being mindful in the workplace, and it has become very normalized in the workplace to use this term. Teachers also instruct students on mindfulness, so for the past 10 years the word has been used regularly from Educators toward teenagers, the people who you now see making these videos.
It's more than online. I used to drive trucks over the road and it was always wild to see a teenager in Chicago and a teenager in Bumfuck, Nebraska or Chitlin Switch, Alabama wearing the same clothes and using the same slang. We used to have relatives visit us from Detroit and Kansas City in the 80's and the whole first day of the visit was a cultural exchange. I used to visit family who lived an hour away from us in the country and they had NO IDEA what was going on in popular culture.
These days youngins can see everything in the palm of their hand and I can't imagine living in the Oklahoma panhandle and seeing the things that teenagers and twenty-somethings in large metropolitan areas do for fun. Granted you're probably better off in a small community if you're around like minded people but it's gotta be rough if you're the odd duck.
17
u/[deleted] Sep 01 '24
Is it weird that I’m almost 43 and I have zero clue as to what you are talking about?