As the internet continues to gain popularity through social media and algorithms that tailor content to you specifically, you'll notice that there are some references that are only used online and not understood in person. That doesn't mean acroynms like OMG and TTYL, but references like "No more soomers" or "It's a Chicken Salad" (those are tiktok memes if that flew over your head). According to Mike Rugnetta, host from PBS's Idea Channel there are such things as "internet dialects". In the video "Are There Internet dialects?" he explains that language, as well as the way we use the internet, changes from platform to platform. For example, on instagram one might decide to post pictures of themselves or of food, but on a different platform such as Twitter they would only post random jokes for their audience to interact with. The places were we interact and engage the most are where we live in "internetland." We engage in many different "communities" online, and use each space differently.

Instagram is another social media platform I consider to have a "Dialect." Suprisingly I consider this community to be kind of a copy cat of other platforms, let me explain. The considered "dialect" of instagram is screenshots from sites like Twitter, Reddit, and Tumblr to name a few. Of course there is original content on instagram but more often than not the communities within instagram that I engage with are "Copy Cat" pages. The user "quotessbyj" has a page that is full of status updates from random users on facebook that their audience finds funny. The quotes are out of pocket random sayings that interest their audience. These types of post are useful for people who don't have facebook but still could enjoy some of the content on that website, and evidently it works considering the almost 50K followers that this user has. Some of the original content I like from this community is the practice of "relatable" memes. There are pages all over this platform that have users posting memes all about mental illnesses such as ADHD or depression because the younger generation uses memes and humor as a coping mechanism, its considered a dialect because if someone was to joke about something serious in real life they'd be bashed for being insensitive. My favorite page includes the user "secretdiaryofbpd" because they post funny relatable memes about living life with BPD (borderline personality disorder). Their Bio says "we're all friends here so expect support" letting all users who interact with their page know that it is a safe space to freely engage in.