2 days ago
Gen Z says the em dash is the ‘coolest punctuation ever'
Gen Z: I am — and I don't say this lightly — so busy.
Boomer: What's with all the dashes? Is Morse code having a moment?
Em dashes are a vibe. One X user calls them the 'coolest punctuation ever' — the Charli XCX of grammar.
Confusing and jarring?
Sassy and smart — they draw attention.
More like a fax machine: clunky, awkward and best left in the last century.
The em dash is everywhere, according to The Washington Post, because it's ChatGPT's favourite punctuation mark.
Is that a new Turing test component: asking if AI prefers dashes or colons?
'We — and ChatGPT — have a soft spot for the em dash,' an OpenAI employee told the Post. A journalist called it 'my emotional support punctuation mark'.
Once used by Emily Dickinson in her poetry; now therapy for chatbots.
Why the winky face?
Is that a joke about my bad eye?
No, I mean the ;
It's actually called a semicolon and it's the 'most elegant and elusive of punctuation marks' to both The Spectator and myself.
So jarring. You know they're used only half as much now as they were in 2000?
Because of your generation's inability to practise decent grammar?
Because the semicolon is old and stuffy. It's a monocle in punctuation form.
Excuse me but I agree with The Spectator: 'Like napkins, black tie and having a glass of champagne before lunch, the semicolon remains a bulwark against civilisational decline.'
Forget mad dictators and ravaging wars. Boomers say the semicolon will save us!
I'm sorry that we value the English language.
But I saw on X some old bloke named Kurt Vonnegut said semicolons 'represent absolutely nothing' and are only used to 'show you went to college'.
I'm not taking literary advice from someone who calls the author of Slaughterhouse-Five 'some old bloke named Kurt'.
Stop being aggy. You're giving hostile punctuator vibes.
Is that the 2025-friendly way of calling someone a grammar Nazi?
It's when you overuse punctuation so your texts look like they're from a thriller.
How can a tiny mark come across as hostile?
Take the Boomer obsession with ellipsis.
Go on…
Exactly what I mean! TikToker Elâ got 527,000 likes on her clip noting everyone over 60 insists on ending texts with '…'
It softens the end of a sentence.
It seems like you're planning something sinister. Eg 'My mum always texts me like 'dad's not home…''
And what's wrong with that?
'It makes it sound like she's buried him in the backyard.'
Ironic from someone who thinks a skull emoji is an appropriate reaction to a joke.
We've spoken about this, it means I'm dying from laughter.
So what should I end my texts with? A full stop?
If you want to be shady, sure.
It's 'shady' to end a clause with good grammar?
Full stops give such sus energy! According to Stylist, if someone uses a full stop 'they're angry and want you to know they're angry, but they're not in the mood for a direct confrontation'.
Or maybe they're just proficient in English?
Put it this way: if my mum texts saying 'I'm not annoyed.' I know to turn up with flowers and a bottle of Whispering Angel.
It's three words and a dot, you're reading too much into it.
No cap, I've had friendships end over a bitchy full stop instead of a kissy face.
I'm not sure what 'no cap' means, but that really does bring things to a full stop.
Your jokes are as cringey as your punctuation habits.
This has got me thinking about the difference between your generation and the semicolon.
Only one has valid use in the 21st century?
Only one is capable of stringing together complex thoughts.
