How Gen Z Slang Lives and Dies on the Internet

A data-driven dive into the rise, spread, and decline of internet language from 2020 to 2025.

0 Slang Terms
0 Platforms
0 Regions
0 Observations
Scroll to explore

The Rise

When does slang emerge? Some terms explode overnight. Others build momentum over months. This heatmap shows the monthly pulse of the top 15 slang terms — watch for the bright streaks that mark their peak moments.

Key insight: "Slay" dominates with 19,000+ observations, but newer terms like "delulu" show rapid growth patterns.

The Race

Which slang term dominates the internet? Watch the top 10 terms battle for the #1 spot in real-time — cumulative usage stacks up month after month. Some rise fast, others stay on top for years.

Key insight: "Slay" holds the early lead, but by 2024 "sigma" and "brain rot" surge past older terms as Gen Z language keeps reinventing itself.
Jan 2020

The Spread

Slang doesn't stay on one platform. A term coined on TikTok migrates to Twitter, Reddit, and beyond. This Sankey diagram reveals the flow — where terms originate versus where they actually get used.

Key insight: TikTok originates 52% of all slang but captures only 40% of usage. Discord appears only as a destination — a pure adoption platform.

Peak & Decline

Every slang term has a lifecycle: growing, peaking, declining, dormant. This bubble chart maps each term's journey — bigger bubbles mean more total usage, colors show the current phase.

Key insight: 38% of tracked terms are already in decline. Virality is rare — only 0.1% of posts go viral — but when it hits, it defines a term's peak.
Jan 2020

The Vibes

Where do people actually use slang? From gaming chats to dating apps, from meme pages to food reviews — every context has its own flavor. This wheel maps how slang terms spread across 17 different usage contexts.

Key insight: Slang lives everywhere — "Slay" dominates compliments and fashion, while "Sigma" rules gaming and meme culture. Hover a sector to see its top terms and sentiment breakdown.

Explore the Data

Dive deeper. Filter by term, platform, age group, or region. Coordinated views update in real-time as you interact.

Filter by Term

Interactive term selector
(Coming in Milestone 3)

Age Group Breakdown

Age group distribution chart
(Coming in Milestone 3)

Regional Patterns

Regional choropleth map
(Coming in Milestone 3)

Sentiment Analysis

Sentiment breakdown by category
(Coming in Milestone 3)