It’s, like, not cool
Using “like” every second word is cumbersome and can, like, hurt the point you are trying to make
Sitting in a common area studying one day, I couldn’t help but overhear a variety of conversations taking place around me. The thing I found shocking was that I did not hear gossip or different topics or any such thing. All I could hear was the word “like” being repeated over and over.
This brought on a flash back from when I went camping and I was told that I said “like” a lot. I do, or at least I use to until I started realizing it. Not only did I realize how often I was saying it, I realized I picked up a habit without even noticing it. I sat there studying one minute, then considering, how did this habit start and do these people even realize how often they say “like”?
These were not the only questions on my mind. Does it even matter how often people say it? After all, it is a free country. So I started thinking up situations in which it would not be okay to use “like” as often as I was hearing it.
A surprising amount came to mind. For instance if you were in court and you said “like” every second word in your case, I doubt many people would hire you as their lawyer. Another situation that came to mind was speaking to a nurse, asking questions about serious health problems and the nurse replying using “like” multiple times in the sentence. Could you take them seriously? Also consider being pulled over by a police officer and while they were explaining the ticket they wrote you, repeating “like” throughout his explanation, would you reasonably listen? These and many more situations came to mind.
These examples brought on another realization. No wonder many people aren’t taken seriously. If anyone was conveying an important message to you, and repeating “like” as every second word, it would sound ridiculous, especially at a university. How serious are you reflecting your knowledge when you cannot even have a conversation without using “like” constantly? A conversation with intellect and speaking about what you know, or conveying your emotions on a subject, but you feel the need to say “like” as every second word?
How important does this sound to you? “He was like, ya I don’t think so and I was like, what do you mean? And it was, like, stupid and I just wanna, like, forget about it!” It’s a person trying to convey that they are not happy with the other person’s opinion, but it sounds ridiculous!
The knowledge you gain at university isn’t just meant for the classroom or the workplace, it’s meant to improve your day to day lives and give you a deeper understanding of everything around you. Use your knowledge in your day-to-day lives, and speak about it. Show that you care about what you’re learning. Do not just lock it all up in the classroom.
Raenna Gohm
Contributor
