It’s the new speak. And it’s making me cranky. In fact, the entire country seems cranky these days — the entire country that is except for teenagers.
Teenagers are supposed to be the ones with the surging hormones. So why aren’t they sulking silently, seething somewhere or at least obsessing privately on their ‘issues’ ? How have rites of passage changed so much that an entire generation is transformed to become exceptionally noisy, engaged in endless chatter, everywhere — on the street, on the train, in the cinema, online. It would not surprise me in the least to find that teenagers have taken to sleeping in packs.
And gender makes no difference except that the conversation topic among the boys is sport and among the girls is boys.
And, when they’re not talking they’re texting. Or instant messaging. Endlessly. And it’s not even just the teenagers. Grown adults are at it too — except they do it mostly by phone. I’ve overheard conversations about work difficulties, marriage difficulties, financial difficulties, parenting issues. I know about people’s prescriptions for everything from diabetes to the most unthinkable of complaints. I’ve learned more than I ever needed to know about perfect strangers’ plans for the weekend.
Babble and chatter, twaddle and balderdash. It’s relentless, it’s endless, it’s everywhere. It’s the new speak.
