TO SWEAR OR NOT TO SWEAR

I’m going to back track a little with this post and resurrect a topic I touched on a few months ago. It’s a topic that has sparked many a debate for me over the past little while so I thought I’d reopen the can of worms and throw it out there for all of you to have a good go at.

I’m talking about swearing.
Now by that I don’t mean the casual “WTF”, “damn”, “hell” “bitch” or any of the other half-ass “curse words” that often get thrown under the swearing umbrella (see here). I’m talking about the big ones, the F-Bombs, the C-Bombs and the less imposing sh*t and d*ck bombs. And I’m talking about the place – or lack thereof - these words have in the world of social media.

Now me, I’m a fan. I like swearing. I particularly like how effective the words are at adding emphasis. However, I also acknowledge that not all people are susceptible to swearing and that a miss placed F-Bomb can often put you in a spot of bother. So obviously there’s a time and place. But where does social media fit into that time and place?

In order to truly understand this question we must step back and have a look at direction we are heading as a society.
New Zealand has always had that rough around the edges culture where even the most respected members of society let lose and fire off a few profanities when in the company of friends. Granted some do it more than others, but I challenge you to find a kiwi who has not been exposed to, or indulged in some healthy social swearing at some point in their lives. It’s not malicious, or intended to cause offence. It is simply a social behaviour that is entrenched in New Zealand's culture.

In years passed these expletives have been confined to social gatherings, with the vast majority of people remaining prim and proper while mingling with the rest of society. However, the sharp increase in the use of “foul” language in the media has resulted in society becoming very desensitised. TV, Movies, Magazines, News Papers and Radio are now packed full of profanities meaning the nations youth have been brought up with this sort of language being mainstream. Kids are being exposed to it at a very young age and by the time they finish school it has become an intricate part of their everyday vocabulary.

This is where it gets a bit dicey. For the majority of young people “curse” words are everyday run of the mill words. They are used frequently when conversing with friends, family, lecturers, managers and even complete strangers. Ninety-nine percent of the time this is not an issue because everyone else throws these words around just as much. Yet as a business targeting this demographic there is still a taboo associated with swearing.

The thing with social media is that it can’t be treated like other advertising mediums. Unlike the more traditional mediums social media is, well.. it’s social. It presents a scenario where the business is at the same level as the consumer and as such the businesses goal must be to present a face that the consumer is able to relate to and engage with. Basic marketing theory suggests that speaking the target markets language would go a long way to achieving that face. Thus throwing around a few f-bombs in your tweets and status's is potentially a very good way to attract and engage certain demographics. So, to swear or not to swear?

In ten to twenty years when today’s younger generations have become upstanding members of society swear words wont exist. But as of right now they do. Which means that while a few well-placed f-bombs would be well received by certain target demographics, those same f-bombs would literally blow away the potential customers in others.
So ultimately it comes down to a trade-off. To swear of not to swear.

Get involved; throw your thoughts around. I want to hear what you think.