logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2025
16m 18s

Are we cooked? How social media shapes y...

TED Tech
About this episode

Gen Z slang is rife with new words like "unalive," "skibidi" and "rizz." Where do these words come from — and how do they get popular so fast? Linguist Adam Aleksic explores how the forces of social media algorithms are reshaping the way people talk and view their very own identities.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Today
How to parent in the age of AI with Stephen Remedios and Avni Patel Thompson
Outsourcing parenthood can feel like the ultimate life hack. Less noise. Fewer interruptions. But at what cost? In today’s episode, Sherrell shares two talks on parenting in the age of AI. First, a father who handed the job to AI and learned something no algorithm could teach him ... Show More
27m 31s
Aug 7
Exploring the ocean through whales with Eric Stackpole
What if you stuck a camera onto a whale’s back before it dives underwater? What would you discover and what would you hear? In this episode, Sherrell shares a talk from an ocean explorer who captured something no one had ever seen. Then, she shares a TED-Ed lesson that explains t ... Show More
15m 43s
Jul 31
The hidden health benefits of wearables technology with Michael Snyder
Michael Snyder is a professor and genomicist who wears eight pieces of wearable technology every day: four smartwatches, two rings, and two hearing aids. These devices give him a personal data dashboard to help him understand his health in real time. In this interview, Michael jo ... Show More
28m 18s
Recommended Episodes
May 2025
Are we cooked? How social media shapes your language | Adam Aleksic
Gen Z slang is rife with new words like "unalive," "skibidi" and "rizz." Where do these words come from — and how do they get popular so fast? Linguist Adam Aleksic explores how the forces of social media algorithms are reshaping the way people talk and view their very own identi ... Show More
15m 16s
Sep 2025
Algorithmic Social Media Is Driving New Slang
From viral slang such as “skibidi” to the rise of so-called brain rot, linguist and content creator Adam Aleksic, aka the “Etymology Nerd,” and associate editor Allison Parshall, who covers the mind and brain, unpack how social media and algorithms are reshaping the way we commun ... Show More
26m 55s
Jul 2025
What The Sigma Is Algospeak?
<p>Gen Alpha slang can seem unintelligible to adults, but linguist and TikToker Adam Aleksic argues language development in the internet age is worth legitimate study. Adam talks to Host Flora Lichtman about how algorithms and social media are changing <a href="https://www.scienc ... Show More
18m 32s
Aug 2025
225. Speaking Fluent Internet: How Algorithms Are Changing the Way We Speak
In the digital age, it’s critical to craft communication that fits the context.Like it or not, algorithms now decide whose messages get heard. “If you want to communicate effectively,” says Adam Aleksic, “you need to be exactly aware of what that medium is doing.”Aleksic is a lin ... Show More
24m 23s
Jan 2025
#93 The Etymology Nerd - How Social Media is Transforming Our Language
tail spinning
1h 9m
Oct 2024
Social media language
Michael talks to linguist Dr Andreea Calude about her research into how language is used on Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter/X. And he asks if we're witnessing the death of email.Dr Andreea Calude is the author of The Linguistics of Social Media: An Introduction.Pr ... Show More
27m 59s
Mar 2024
289. How is TikTok Changing the English Language?: TikToklish and Algospeak Explained (English Vocabulary Lesson)
Download ELSA for free and get 7 days pro membership for free: https://bit.ly/ELSAxTHINKINGINENGLISH ⁠ ⁠Get up to 85% off of ELSA lifetime membership by going to elsaspeak.com/promocode and use my code THINK85⁠ TikTok is changing the way we speak and use English. It is contr ... Show More
28m 55s
Jul 2022
Confused by modern idioms?
We talk about some new expressions that have been introduced to English through the media 
6m 26s
Dec 2024
445. New English vocabulary? Learn Gen Alpha Slang with an 8-year-old expert!
<p>Skibidi toilet rizz, ohio, mewing and more…join me and my guest, Assaf, for a vocabulary lesson on Gen Alpha slang.</p> <p>Gen Alpha consists of any person born between 2010-2024, and today, we get schooled by Gen Alpha on some of the newest terms they're using in English!</p> 
8m 35s