What do we lose when we use terms like 'seggs' online?

"Algospeak" is a term used to describe the kind of internet language that replaces more sensitive words with seemingly innocuous words or emojis to avoid being censored by the algorithm. 

It's a form of communication that has become the norm on platforms like TikTok or Instagram. For example, content creators will regularly use words like "seggs" in captions to talk about sex, or use a corn emoji to indicate the video is talking about porn.

While it's a testament to human creativity and the malleability of language to adapt to new forms and social norms, the rise of algospeak could also be seen as evidence of our evolving relationship with the concept of free speech.

Today on Commotion, internet culture writers Rebecca Jennings and Noelle Perdue join host Elamin Abdelmahmoud to explain this phenomenon and the way its changing how people not only express themselves but also connect with each other online.

We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player.

Elamin: We are dealing with algorithms, Rebecca, that are quite often governing the boundaries of those conversations, and those algorithms are a black box. You don't always know if your work is going to be suppressed or if it's going to be promoted, or if it's going to be prevented from reaching any of your followers…. How does that affect the way that people engage online, do you think? 

Rebecca: I think it makes people scared to say anything because they know that with one post or with one infraction against the terms of service, they could be losing their entire account. They could be losing money. They could be losing years of work and community. And so what ends up happening is your feed is just full of beige, medium slop that doesn't mean anything. It's very brand safe, but it's not interesting. It's not educational. It's just the lowest common denominator stuff. 

And so I think it's also interesting that for the first 10 years of social media, you had all these right-wingers complain that the problem was that their views were getting silenced by woke tech companies. And now obviously, as we see, it's so much more likely to be the opposite. Instead, you're being silenced for being trans or … you don't fit into the model of what these tech companies want their typical user to be. And so instead, these platforms are also built around creating rage bait. And so instead of prioritizing videos or content that are complex and nuanced and interesting and for adults, they reward the ones that are just very basic and attention-getting, even if they're very cruel.

Elamin: Noelle, maybe you can talk about this a bit more broadly, in terms of how it affects other people who are trying to make a livelihood on the internet? Because certainly that is a part of why you would exist online. And then if you can't talk about your work, you can't really make a living.

Noelle: Yeah, and it's so frustrating. I think for a lot of minority communities, especially, that are hit harder with moderation and censorship, it really is this culture of fear and it really affects, I think, how people are engaging with their work and engaging with online communities. For myself, sex workers and people who work in the adult industry, it can be a really isolating industry to be in. So many of our connections and community exist online. The idea that you can lose that so quickly is really frightening. 

I think that people talk about online space or social media a little bit flippantly. But at this point, social media presence has become so ubiquitous…. It's the business card, you know? If you want to legitimize yourself, you send a handle. When I was pitching my book to literary agents, there were a lot of literary agents that didn't ask for a book pitch at all; they just asked for a social media handle, which is crazy. Or, you know, the Squarespace slogan of, "A website makes it real." That's true. The online world and the digital space has really become IRL in so many more ways than IRL has been able to keep up with. We are talking about real stakes here. We are talking about real careers, and relationships and lives.

You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.

Panel produced by Nikky Manfredi.