Modern (Millennial?) Viral Lingo

Between the mass number of social media platforms, hundreds of thousands of apps, acronyms, and wild terminology us millennials call English, it can get a little crazy. From Emoji’s to slang words it can be difficult for one to stay up to date with all the new terminology making its way around. NO WORRIES, I am here to help!

Today I will be explaining a very commonly used term.

THIRSTY:

One can assume that the terminology “thirsty” would mean that a person is parched. According to Merriam-Webster, thirsty is defined as, “having an uncomfortable feeling because you need something to drink: feeling thirst.” (“Merriam-Webster”)

Although that is the correct denotation, that is not the case in some circumstances when you generally see it on social media.
Thirsty is a commonly used term within the social media realm. You can see this term used on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and even throughout YouTube and its comment section. This term is used to refer or describe an individual who is looking for desperate for attention and is doing things over the top to get noticed.

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Urban Dictionary defines Thirsty as:

1. Too eager to get something (especially play)
2. Desperate
3. To crave attention.
4. Trying to talk to the opposite sex (most likely)

Example: "She is always posting [revealing] pictures, thirsty much?

[LINK TO SOURCE/URBAN DICTIONARY DEFINITION]

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When you hear the word thirsty in the context of above, it is mainly being used by teenagers. I’ve never heard an older adult use this term in that way. Furthermore, I’d much rather like to keep it that way where those who are not in their teens do not say it. To hear a person in their thirties or forties speak in this manner is just awkward and inappropriate. It’s weird to hear people in their early and late twenties say it! Nonetheless, there is no actual reason why a person should use this term anymore unless they are trying to make a point that they need some H2O. This term dates back years, so to say how it came about would be me telling you a bunch of muck to be quite frank. I mean you look at the definition on Urban Dictionary, and it was entered in December of 2003. I do believe that this word had died out for about ten years and then came back to life in 2012 when Kanye West released a hit single entitled “Mercy.” (The power of “Yeezus,” people!) In this song, Kanye stated, “Lamborghini Mercy, your chick, she so thirsty,” and from that point on the word was resurrected. Today, in 2016 the word is still rarely used; you’ll hear people here and there using the term. (Click HERE for “Mercy” music video on YouTube)

This word can be used towards any person by anyone, not just a particular group. Men tend to use this term more often to refer to females as “thirsty,” but it can be used by whoever. People tend to not be offended when called by this term, and those who are called by this name are not excluded. They may be perceived differently, but ethically they are not excluded.

Commonly this term can also be referred to as a “Thirst Trap.” Take for example on Instagram. A girl posts a half-naked photo; however, she captions it “Check out my new phone.” No one is looking at your phone in that half-naked photo of yours! The thirst trap is when you put out a seductive photo just to get thirsty attention. It raises the question of why would they post a photo like that.

In some way, I can see how people could be against people who are viewed as “thirsty.” However, what may seem “thirsty” could also be the individual showing confidence. Maybe a person is thrilled with their weight-loss progress and chooses to take a photo showing off their progress. I believe that some photos should be private, especially the explicit (we all know what you’re trying to do) photos.

Ultimately, it comes down to what you embody.
As long as this word is out of standard terminology, then all is well.

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Blog Post #3 - IS101