What Adam Aleksic has said about Internet slang

In his TED Talk, Aleksic said that algorithms accelerate word spread so much that "rizz" went from obscurity to Oxford word of the year within a year.

“In the span of just a year, a word like Riz can go from complete obscurity to becoming the Oxford English Dictionary Word of the Year”

TED Radio Hour: How the creator economy is making you talk like the internet (Aug 21, 2026) · Listen from 19:13

Aleksic argues that less conspicuous changes, such as the adverbial "low-key," will affect English more lasting than flashy trends like "skibidi."

“I think it's those words that don't stick out that are going to have a greater impact on our language hundreds of years from now”

TED Radio Hour: How the creator economy is making you talk like the internet (Aug 21, 2026) · Listen from 23:56

Aleksic says that teenagers are the leading indicators of language change because they are forming identities and are linguistically flexible.

“I think these kids are the bellwethers of where language is going to go”

TED Radio Hour: How the creator economy is making you talk like the internet (Aug 21, 2026) · Listen from 24:23