Older gens think young people are using the term “POV” wrong. It’s no secret that Gen Z on TikTok changes language all the time. And for years now, they’ve been constantly using “POV”—and according to older gens, are constantly misusing it. Instead of treating the phrase as its literal meaning, “point of view,” young people have inadvertently shifted it to something more along the lines of “imagine this is you” or “this is what it feels like when this happens.” But while some are annoyed by Gen Z not using it literally, some linguists argue that this is just the way language evolves—a term’s definition is dependent on how it’s actually used. TikTok has changed how young people use tons of other words, too. While the term “aesthetic” denotes a specific artistic taste, Gen Z uses it to mean “aesthetically pleasing,” often commenting things like “you’re so aesthetic” on people’s videos. (NYT)
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