discussion Are terms like "Unalive" and "Grape" cringe and stupid?

[Space Cowboy]

I've noticed more and more people using words like "unalive" instead of "dead, kill, suicide" and "grape" instead of "rape"

 

Is it just me, or does this feel weird and extra cringe? I get that these terms started as a way to avoid triggering content filters online, but now some people use them in normal conversation, like face-to-face or in casual chats or forums like reddit or this one, where content filters are not an issue.

 

Am I being too sensitive, or does this come off as infantilizing and awkward?
 

What are your thoughts? 

[Cruel Summer]

I think they make sense in the context of an environment like a social media app with incredibly restrictive rules for censorship and algorithm compatibility, but I agree that they're awkward, infantilized, and otherwise unpleasant outside that context. I think a lot of usage outside the bounds of Tik Tok comes from how pervasive that app has become for younger generations and how incredibly online society has become in general. If the vast majority of a young person's social engagement is coming from platforms like this rather than "real," disconnected life, then that's going to be their default vocabulary - their version of normal. It's actually kind of interesting to watch as this kind of terminology spreads and evolves from a linguistic perspective, but when it comes from censorship at its core, I do worry a little that it reflects a growing inability to fully engage with, articulate, and understand some serious real experiences. Language is power, and certain bad things need to be named to be appropriately addressed - but I see even adults online starting to use these terms out of habit, or even out of an explicit desire not to really name and engage with the topics of suicide and rape.

[glitch]

I just think people are so used to having to censor words on one platform that they just do it as a default on all the others. I've never heard anyone saying those words irl though.

 

Most people who use that slang are teenagers/adults under 21 so it's kinda whatever. I'm sure we were all saying annoying cringe things when we were that age.

[Domination]

Yes, these terms originated on TikTok and as someone with several friends who work there exactly in the area of content moderation users are so concerned with, they literally dgaf about the original word and if you use "grape" instead of "r@pe" the content of the video is still considered the same based on who is uploading it and literally every other word used in the video.

 

Just evidence of mass delusion and conspiracy.

[itshyolee]

20 minutes ago, Space Cowboy said:

Is it just me, or does this feel weird and extra cringe? I get that these terms started as a way to avoid triggering content filters online, but now some people use them in normal conversation, like face-to-face or in casual chats or forums like reddit or this one, where content filters are not an issue.

This just shows how chronically online some people are.
 

Grass needs to be touched

[Mikeymoonshine]

Yes tbh. I get avoiding content filters/moderation cos it can have all sorts or negitive effects for content creators but you can do that in a more tactful way. Those sorts of topics should be addressed with care. They can still be upsetting to people and being so casual about them is a little insensitive. 

[Revolution]

we r all terminally online so it is only natural i fear

[Illuminati]

Yeah but it's only to bypass the filters. Kinda like saying allegedly every couple of words to avoid being sued

Edited 11 hours ago by Illuminati

[Trent W]

If you use them outside of tik tok where those words are banned then yes

 

There is literally no reason to use them

[Sawk]

I hate it, it's cringey censorship 

[Bussea]

absolutely. i'm least likely to take you seriously. and i also hate when people just censor unnecessary **** too  i remember I was texting this one gay years ago and he censored my job when asking if I still worked there???

[Alaska.]

As a spicy accountant, I agree

[dumbsparce]

I unsubscribe immediately from anyone who uses this nonsense terms. How does "unalive myself" somehow soften the blow of "suicide" ??  The internet is not a place for kids. It infuriates me that we have to bent backwards for incompetent parents who have found the easy solution of leaving it to social media to raise their kids instead of them

[beautiful player]

This is what you care about? 

It's really not that serious

[Bloo]

2 minutes ago, dumbsparce said:

I unsubscribe immediately from anyone who uses this nonsense terms. How does "unalive myself" somehow soften the blow of "suicide" ??  The internet is not a place for kids. It infuriates me that we have to bent backwards for incompetent parents who have found the easy solution of leaving it to social media to raise their kids instead of them

Girl, why are you punishing content creators for abiding by the rules of the platform? They’re the ones that restrict speech which forces people to use these “cringe” terms.

—

OT: Sure, the words are awkward. But, the bigger issue is the overall censorship around language used to discuss current events. That’s not something to blame on content creators. They’re just playing within the rules of the game. Even then, this really isn’t a big problem. There are a million other issues to be concerned about. I’d rather people use these terms than see the resurgence of the R-slur on Twitter since Musk took over. 

[dumbsparce]

Just now, Bloo said:

Girl, why are you punishing content creators for abiding by the rules of the platform? They're the ones that restrict speech which forces people to use these "cringe" terms.

—

OT: Sure, the words are awkward. But, the bigger issue is the overall censorship around language used to discuss current events. That's not something to blame on content creators. They're just playing within the rules of the game. 

I do put it on them bc there's a million different ways they could get their message through without using these pg13 terms and still manage to bypass the filters. It's a sign they lack intellect if they're willing to say out loud these cringe terms, therefore they're not worth of my subscription. 

 

Also, at what point do these new terms become the ones that trigger people? If "kill" causes a negative reaction then "unalive" must too bc they literally have the same meaning. It's an endless cycle of complete nonsense.

[Da Vinci]

Kim there's people that are unaliving

[Domination]

37 minutes ago, Bloo said:

Girl, why are you punishing content creators for abiding by the rules of the platform? They're the ones that restrict speech which forces people to use these "cringe" terms.

—

OT: Sure, the words are awkward. But, the bigger issue is the overall censorship around language used to discuss current events. That's not something to blame on content creators. They're just playing within the rules of the game. Even then, this really isn't a big problem. There are a million other issues to be concerned about. I'd rather people use these terms than see the resurgence of the R-slur on Twitter since Musk took over. 

At least on TikTok, there's no rules about using the actual word and creators have no evidence that specific words trigger suppression. They have created one of the most effective retention algorithms in human history, using certain words (mind you we aren't talking about slurs, we're literally talking about people replacing words like "murder" and "kill") does not change anything about the way the system ingests and pushes a video to a wider audience.

[JoeAg]

absolutely. unalive in particular really pisses me off and every time a friend of mine says it I actually just say "you mean suicide? you mean kill oneself?" like stop f*cking shying away from saying it it's so  irritating and feels like random unnecessary soft treading. all respect to any of yall if you don't have conversations like this with friends but every single one of my close friends has been personally affected by at least one suicide in their lives! I mean goodness gracious we're all mid-20s at YOUNGEST and late 30s at oldest! it's not time for us to say sh*t like "unalive" anymore

[Peak Now]

3 hours ago, Trent W said:

If you use them outside of tik tok where those words are banned then yes

 

There is literally no reason to use them

This

[Cheeky]

Unalive is beyond stupid and I judge anyone that uses it casually.

 

Never heard about the other one though. Sounds stupid too.

[AlanRickman1946]

Grape is confusing cause does it mean gang-r@pe or r@pe?

[єѕℓαм]

Yes but for some reason i find words like "self exit" more appealing to me

[Popboi.]

They're only ever used to bypass the shadow ban algorithm that takes place when using words like death and rape.

[Gladiator]

I'm pretty sure platforms like Youtube, etc. demonetize a ton of words like what those replace are used in content posted. They are cringe though yes.