INTERNET SLANG AND LEXICAL CHANGE IN CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH: EVIDENCE FROM SOCIAL MEDIA

The rapid development of social media has significantly influenced the English language, particularly its vocabulary. Digital platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Reddit, and YouTube have become major sources of lexical innovation, where new words, abbreviations, acronyms, and expressions are created and spread worldwide within a short period. This study examines the influence of internet slang on lexical change in contemporary English by analyzing the formation, functions, and dissemination of new lexical items across social media platforms. The research employs descriptive, comparative, and semantic analysis to investigate the linguistic features of internet slang. The findings indicate that social media accelerates the creation of neologisms, semantic shifts, lexical borrowing, clipping, blending, and acronym formation. Furthermore, many internet slang expressions gradually move beyond online communication and become part of everyday spoken and written English. The study concludes that internet slang has become one of the primary driving forces behind lexical change in modern English and reflects ongoing technological, cultural, and social developments.