What Internet terms
irritate you the most?
If you spend enough time on the Internet and the various nooks & crannies where the bulk of it takes place, you will have almost certainly come face to face with terms you tend not to hear in the non-online word. It’s a second language we’ve developed to describe people or situations common enough to deserve their own short-hand reference.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with this and it can often be helpful in a medium where being able to express yourself immediately matters more than doing so thoughtfully, but too often these words become used so carelessly that they cease to serve any other purpose than to act as a kind of “checkmate!” that insists the conservation has ended before it has even begun.
Take for example the term “White Knight”. Up above you’ll see probably the least problematic of the definitions currently found on UrbanDictionary.com. It began as a way to describe the kind of person apt to lead credence to an obvious troll, either by defending their outrageous statements or their right to make them–sometimes in an attempt to curry favour or just to further the trolling.
As such it is a useful term for an individual who does indeed exist in annoying numbers throughout the Internet. The problem is that the “clearly” used in the above definition has become a lot more subjective than it used to be. What used to be fairly attributed to those who deliberately acted to further pollute a polite conversation by defending the polluter is now commonly used against anyone who chooses to defend a person who they feel is being unfairly attacked by the majority.
And I find this highly problematic because we all know that just because a majority of people feel the same way in a given situation doesn’t mean they are right. Majorities can be wrong and people can be unfairly attacked, especially on a medium where many doing the attacking are unlikely to know anything beyond a headline and the opening paragraph of the post in which the debate is taking place.
That’s how a person who articulates their belief that the president is an American citizen can end up being accused of “white knighting” for Barack Obama by people comfortable enough in their majority presence on the kind of site that argues the opposite to assert that they alone know what is “clearly” right in this case.
In this way the once useful term is used instead to shut down and shame anyone who genuinely disagrees with the dominate view being expressed. And such shaming is working because now the term and its even shorter (and more Internet friendly) initialization “wk” is now frequently used as a verb by not only the accuser, but also apparent offenders.
“I don’t mean to white knight for _____, but I can see what they are saying….” is a sentence I find myself reading with alarming frequency these days. It alarms me because the people in question are essentially preemptively apologizing for expressing an unpopular point of view, even though–especially in discussions that are often 100% subjective–that’s not something we should insist people be ashamed of doing.
If we truly believe a person is right and that the often vitriolic abuse people online receive for having expressed themselves is unfair, then we should be able to express as much without the fear that we will be accused of doing so merely to enrage and provoke. Sometimes a person doesn’t go against the majority because they think they will profit from it in the future, but simply because–in that moment–they think it is the right thing to do.
Okay, so that’s the one that really annoys me. Do you have any others to add?
The funny thing is I have never seen this definition of “white knight ” in action. On the other hand I have seen the other Urban Dictionary definitions that were deemed problematic.
“Life-hack(s)”
I guess you could debate whether this one is an actual “internet term”, or just one that was created/popularized/ and primarily appears on the internet.
Either way, it completely distorts the meaning of “hacking” whenever an author uses it instead of any number of appropriate terms: shortcuts, tips, best practices, time-savers, etc. Also makes me wish I could throw a dictionary at the author’s face.
If it has to be entirely net specific, I guess Blogosphere is pretty gross.
I absolutely detest the prefix of “cyber-.” I have no idea why, but it just rubs me the wrong way. Possibly because it has become so dated, but not in a nostalgic sort of way.
“Beta male” is probably my least favorite, both because of what it implies about men and because of who I usually see using it.
Not only does it shame men for not fitting into stereotypical gender roles, but the people I see using it are almost always those who claim to be standing up for men. If you’re really standing up for men, guys, maybe you shouldn’t be shaming them or calling them names.
Amen! Many of the worst enemies of boys and men are (drum roll, please) . . . other guys. When do the more extreme of the MRAs acknowledge this sad fact? They seem to think the only enemies of boys and men are feminists.
Beta Male is NOT an internet term, it is been in use in the real world for WAY before the internet.
“Alpha male” is a real zoological term, of course, but I’ve never heard of “beta male” outside of the internet. Can you give an example?
“Check your privilege” is also used to shut down debate.
indeed, i roar with laughter when i see it.
Agreed. This along with mansplain are pretty much races to the bottom. As in try to use that term as quickly as possible in order to shut down conversation.
Why have a conversation when you can just ignore the other person with the internet equivalent of sticking your fingers in your ears and going “LALALALALALAAAAAA!”?
Some people DO need to check their privilege, though.
And there are men that will thow others under the bus in hopes of gaining favor with women (ie white knights).
I think the problem with a lot of these terms is that they have legitimate use but have been used so broadly their legitimacy is now under questiion.
The most hated internet term (I have never heard it outside of the internet)
Misogyny , it is used all too often, in the wrong context and it is used as a weapon to shut down conversation.
Misogyny is not an “internet term” and it is a word for a real thing that hurts real people.
Gotta agree with Matt on this; misogyny is not an internet term, and has existed and been discussed for decades before the internet came around.
I can’t describe the wash of irritation that comes over me when someone refers to their family members as “dh” or “dd”, replacing the words “dear [relative]” with that acronym. DD is a bra size in my head, not “dear daughter”. “DH” rings in my mind as “duhhhhhhhhhhhh”, like Homer Simpson with a doughnut. JUST SAY DAUGHTER AND HUSBAND. AHHH.
I suppose it’s a bit pedantic to get annoyed about something like this, but I can’t help it.
Agreed 100x… This drives me crazy too! I just recently had a baby and googled a ton. Almost all the forums I read had dh and dd and even a few more. I never knew what it meant until your post!!! Thank you!!