Impact of Social Media on Language Evolution and Effective Communication

Abstract

The increased use of social media platforms (TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) in communication has fundamentally altered the use of language by introducing new vocabularies (slangs, acronyms) reshaping both written and verbal communication styles. This paper evaluates the influence of social media on vocabulary, grammar and effective communication. The paper is rooted on social network theory, diffusion of innovation, and speech-community frameworks, synthesizes a qualitative review of recent case studies and desk-based textual analyses of sampled posts from TikTok, X (Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook, supplemented with relevant scholarly literature. Findings show that platform affordances and influencer dynamics promote rapid diffusion of novel vocabulary (e.g., acronyms such as LOL, TBT, idk, brb, etc.; internet-specific lexemes like simp, ghosting, ratioed; and locally emergent items such as the Nigerian trend “No Gree for Anybody” and youth slang “kapa”, etc.). Multimodal conventions (emojis, GIFs, memes) used across platforms frequently increase brevity and can clarify intent in short messages, but they also produce ambiguity across audiences unfamiliar with these terms. The analysis also found punctuation omission, non-standard capitalization, and truncated forms that, while efficient for rapid exchange, risk eroding norms of formal writing in academic and professional contexts. The paper also outlines how these platform-driven changes simultaneously democratize linguistic innovation and create challenges for clarity, register-control, and intergenerational comprehension. The paper concludes by recommending possible remedies to the implications outlined.