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Gretchen McCulloch: Because Internet : Understanding the New Rules of Language (2019, Riverhead Books) 4 stars

A linguistically informed look at how our digital world is transforming the English language.

Language …

Review of 'Because Internet : Understanding the New Rules of Language' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

When I get stressed, I read pop-linguistics. This was fun: exploring the "verbal" quirks that happen in internet spaces, primarily social media. I particularly liked McCulloch grouping generations of early adaptors, etc. and how different generations, exposed to the internet in different ways, communicate differently. As an Old Internet Person, I've definitely kept a lot of capitalization and format my communication more for e-mails than texts, which I struggle to explain to people only a few years younger than me. I found this very light -- McCulloch is an academic, but definitely not looking to have a completionist approach here -- but memorable: I found myself referring to McCulloch's findings for months after.