Gretchen McCulloch: How has the internet affected how we communicate?

Scroll through Facebook or Twitter and you’ll notice that many people type in a particular style: full of lols and emoji, and rarely using punctuation or capital letters.

Does this mean that we’re losing the ability to use our language correctly? Gretchen McCulloch, author of Because Internet (£12.99, Penguin Books), says absolutely not: in fact, internet users have collaboratively developed a style of language that makes communication much richer.

Here’s Gretchen talking to BBC Science Focus online assistant Sara Rigby about how sarcasm and humour drive our use of language, the value of emoji, and the history of lol.

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Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:

• To become Prime Minister, change your voice – Trevor Cox
• Dr Tilly Blyth: How has art influenced science?
• Why ASMR gives you tingles – Emma WhispersRed
• Robert Elliott Smith: Are algorithms inherently biased?
• Monica Grady: What is the future of space science?
• How do you launch a successful space mission? – Mark McCaughrean

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