I’ve seen a few articles written about it. One was basically explaining that in anonymous spaces like 4chan, being fluent in the “language” is a way to signal that you belong since you have no identity tied to your social status. As that language seeps into the mainstream, it becomes less valuable as a signal to the in group and therefore new words and phrases need to be created to keep the language as esoteric as possible. There was a lot of musing on whether these phrases getting picked up in more mainstream uses normalizes these groups, or whether it’s more a form of mockery that takes away legitimacy.
I’ve seen a few articles written about it. One was basically explaining that in anonymous spaces like 4chan, being fluent in the “language” is a way to signal that you belong since you have no identity tied to your social status. As that language seeps into the mainstream, it becomes less valuable as a signal to the in group and therefore new words and phrases need to be created to keep the language as esoteric as possible. There was a lot of musing on whether these phrases getting picked up in more mainstream uses normalizes these groups, or whether it’s more a form of mockery that takes away legitimacy.
That’s true for every group of people, especially young people.
Every family has their own words or phrases only they use.