Use of curse words among and by young adults

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm 53 and I curse a lot. Always have. I use the F word a lot. But I'm black, and I am a pro at code-switching. I do not speak the same way in mixed company, when at work, or in public. My kids are 19 and 24. They occasionally curse but not too much, especially my 24 yo. The 19 yo curses more, but mostly when he's talking to his friends.

I'm a white female, nearly 60 and grew up in the rural, upper south. We cursed a LOT. But, like you, we code switched. You knew when you could do it and when you had to zip it.

DH curses far less than I do but neither of us cursed around our kids (now young adults) when they were young. Neither did my family because the kids hadn't learned to code switch yet. Of course, the kids learned all the words in ES. The kids will now occasionally curse in front of us but it's no big deal to us.

As an aside, it's not just with cursing that I code switch but also my accent. I sound very different here than I do when in my hometown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It smacks of being low class.


No one in my circle, of any age, talks like that.

LOL. You would nevahhh...

I know, right?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't use foul language in public or around any kids. I have noticed the word pissed is used constantly. TV and music are the main pushers of this vulgar world.

Bad parenting contributes to this.

I am known to occasionally curse! But I do hate the word pissed for some reason. Never say that one.

As I’m thinking, I realized I never cursed in front of my parents when they were alive. Respect. My kids don’t curse in front of me, but I’m sure they’ve let a few words slip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
My teens and young adults don't swear around us and know better than to swear in public.

This topic comes up regularly on DCUM and always garners posts by weird people who think swearing is fine, but really it isn't. Not at any age.

But it is fine. It's just words. If you have no-no words, just don't use them. Other people are free to choose the words they like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a time and place for this. Knowing when that is is important.

The time and place is 24/7 in Australia

Overall, I definitely hear more cursing in the US these days, just out and about, but it isn’t limited to younger people.

[Anonymous]

I am age 54, and was always taught by my parents not to use curse words. And so I do not use them at all.

When I first met DH (back in our 20's), he used to use curse words occasionally. But I noticed that he stopped (without my asking him), just because he noticed that I do not speak that way.

I am pretty happy to see that our kids (ages 19 and 21) do not use curse words at all, at least around us. I am so glad about that. I have mentioned to them that using curse words in the workplace is thought of as pretty vulgar and low-class. (I base this on 30 years of working in a large corporation, in upper management.)

A few years ago, we invited a new neighbor over for dinner, and he started saying f-this and f-that, just as part of his regular conversation. I really kind of just wanted to end the evening. I didn't say anything, but my DH kind of just said "well, it's been a nice evening, thank you so much for coming over." I was kind of touched that DH probably realized that this was not fun. I guess that my neighbor may have grown up in a household where using curse words was normal, and has not realized that it may not be serving him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m 45 and an attorney. I have been using curse words since I was 8 years old. I vividly remember the first time I cursed in front of my mom and she slapped me. Guess what? I still swear. A lot. And guess what else? My kids swear and know when it’s ok and when it’s not.

It’s not the fall of society.

OK, it's not the fall of society. But it is a way of showing that we are kind of getting lazy with our speech. It's good to have some standards for ourselves, in our appearance, in our speech, and in how we show respect for other people.

[Anonymous]

I…don’t understand the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those of you who think cursing is nothing are definitely making a bad impression on many people, just so you know.

My dad was a blue collar worker, in a male- dominated profession yet I never heard him curse (my mother would sometimes shout “dirty word” 😂).

It was a peaceful house to grow up in and taught me to expect respect in all future relationships.

I feel bad for children with any other experience.

But we’re making a bad impression on people whom we don’t care to impress, so it’s a bit of self-selection. I cannot imagine thinking that cussing is a big deal, and I judge the people who think that. It goes both ways.

[Anonymous]

I selectively curse. And I enjoy doing it. Grew up in NY/NJ where cursing was common.

My husband rarely curses. He looks down on people who curse. We have two teen daughter’s - one never curses, ever. The younger one is a little more comfortable with it, but never in front of us.

[Anonymous]

I'm a tenured professor and I curse constantly. Nobody can do shit about it either

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My grown-up children in the 21-25 age range use f-words all the time. These words represent excitement, frustration, and many other emotions. I see the same usage rising even among older generations among my colleagues in informal conversation.

I do not care much about it, but my husband flips out whenever our kids use curse words.

Do you see this pattern among your kids of that age and their friends? How do you handle it?

I would flip out too, specially if they are using them when we're having regular conversations. I'm not their little buddy!

Interesting how you protect them by saying "these words represent" LOL. GTFO.

Are you flipping out now?

[Anonymous]

All you can do is have high standards for people who want to be in your presence, and not accept pushing away people who fail your standards. But if you're chasing someone, you can't make demands.

[Anonymous]

You can't shame the shameless.

[Anonymous]

Seriously? The pearl clutching over the F bomb is just too much. I have two acquaintances who visibly flinch when someone drops an F bomb. They are both ninnies.

Furthermore, studies have shown people who curse are smarter than those that don't (see ninny comment above).

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/26/health/swearing-benefits-wellness/index.html