Cursing on social media platforms is more common among Americans | Credits: MakeUsOf
An in-depth report on swear words has just revealed the frequency of vulgar language on social media, as well as the country with the highest number of users of swear words globally.
They begin their report by stating that our brains serve us for good reasons, such as to vent, cope, increase our determination, resilience, and perseverance in the face of challenges, and, ultimately, to feel closer to those around us.
Before we delve into the in-depth study, it is worth noting that swearing has long been associated with anger and coarseness. However, experts have found that it could have another, more positive connotation, despite being deemed inappropriate in some social settings. Psychologists from the United Kingdom, the United States, the Netherlands, and Hong Kong have found that people who frequently curse are more honest, according to a report from Cambridge University. They also found that those who use profanity are less likely to be linked to lying and deception.
The honest opinion
“Swearing is often inappropriate, but it can also be evidence that someone is telling you their honest opinion,” said Dr David Stillwell, a lecturer in Big Data Analytics at the University of Cambridge, and a co-author on the study. “Just as they aren’t filtering their language to be more palatable, they’re also not filtering their views.”
Cambridge University mentioned a second survey, which involved collecting data from 75,000 Facebook users to analyse their use of swear words in their online social interactions. It also found that those who used more profanity were more likely to employ language patterns previously shown in research to be associated with honesty, such as using pronouns like “I” and “me”.
The most used swear word
The Study by The Conversation analysed more than 1.7 billion words of online language across 20 English-speaking regions. It identified 597 different swear word forms – from standard words, to creative spellings like “4rseholes”, to acronyms like “wtf”.
The research analysed the use of “fuck” in social networks on X, examining how network size and strength influence cursing in the UK, US and Australia. It sifted through data from 5,660 networks with more than 435,000 users and 7.8 billion words and found what we did.
“Overall, the most frequent vulgar word was “fuck” – with all its variants, it amounted to a stunning 201 different forms,” the research found. “Americans use “fuck” most frequently, while Australians use it the least, but with the most creative spelling variations (some comfort for anyone feeling let down by our online swearing stats).”
Americans curse most
The study also found that between 12 per cent and 13.3 per cent of Americans, around 10 per cent of Brits, and 9.4 per cent of Australians used at least one curse word in their data.
Cultural, social, and technological shifts are redefining linguistic standards, blurring the already blurry lines between informal and formal, as well as private and public language.
The study aligns with the University of Cambridge’s findings, suggesting that swearing and vulgarity aren’t merely crass or abusive. “While they can be used harmfully, research consistently shows they serve important communicative functions – colourful language builds rapport, expresses humour and emotion, signals solidarity and eases tension,” the study said.
Citing Geoffrey Hughes’ book “Swearing”, the study concludes that “it’s clear that swearing isn’t just a bad habit that can be easily kicked, like nail-biting or smoking indoors. Besides, history shows that telling people not to swear is one of the best ways to keep swearing alive and well.”
