Do you have rizz? Is your food actually bussin? Why have you been acting sus lately? Do you even know what any of this means? You’re probably behind on the most up to date slang.

“Slang has changed the way people express themselves in texting and communicating with others, and it creates language barriers because younger generations use different ways people speak with each other,” sophomore Anna Taylor said. 

While slang can be useful and efficient, many older generations have trouble translating. 

“Slang has a lot of impact, I think that unfortunately too many people use slang, and sometimes it’s really not appropriate,” Art teacher Carl Overton said. 

As a teacher for over 30 years, Overton as well as many senior teachers have included the slang in daily lessons, or at least tried to grasp their meanings to stay up to date.

“Slang is also a way of getting around using proper speech, and a person would rather use slang in their speech rather than take the time to express themselves in a really productive manner,” Overton said.

“Slang terms can be efficient shorthand ways to express ideas and concepts. Not only does this make communication more efficient, but also it reinforces friendships,” Sociolinguist Yanchun 

Zhou said in his article, a Sociolinguist Study of American Slang.

A recent Tiktok trend challenged families to ask men about “How often they think about the Roman Empire?” Shockingly it was found that an unusual amount of men thought about the Roman Empire on a weekly basis. Soon after people started listing or naming things that impacted their thought process, or what crossed their mind on a daily basis.

The use of social media amongst teens today has created the use of a new language. 

This modern use of informal language has left the older generations bamboozled, creating tons of confusion in the communication amongst teens and elders.

Slang is inevitable. Being adaptable and understanding the latest slang terms can connect people  to enhance relationships.