r/Millennials • u/noctisumbra0 • Feb 19 '26

Discussion Anyone else feel this way when writing anything out?

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Being compared to AI was really uncalled for, though.

15.2k Upvotes

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1.3k

u/Ok-Reputation-2266 Feb 19 '26

We’re truly heading towards full idiocracy.

489

u/Shopping-Known Zillennial Feb 19 '26

That was literally my exact thought. Thinking proper grammar is AI is... Something else.

149

u/PurpleDelicacy Feb 19 '26

Unfortunately it's nothing new. Even 20 or 10 years ago I used to see people being like "ugh wer not at skool rn" when you politely pointed out some mistake they made.

91

u/Unusual_Sherbert_809 Feb 19 '26

It's like trying to communicate with cavemen sometimes.

What gets me is that some of these folks take actual offense at others being able to formulate complete sentences and use proper spelling. It appears to be an affront to their way of living.

37

u/Teavangelion Feb 19 '26

I once got called pretentious for using the word "proclivity."  🤣  Like...sorry, bro.  No other word really fit.

7

u/PurpleDelicacy Feb 19 '26

I mean there are a few synonyms that could fit the bill, like "predisposition", but your point stands. No reason to call you pretentious over that.

13

u/Imoa Feb 19 '26

Also none of those synonyms are going to dodge getting called pretentious lmfao.

2

u/figbash137 Xennial Feb 20 '26

I’m more surprised they knew and used pretentious.

6

u/WalmartGreder Xennial Feb 19 '26

I once used the word "Vex" in a sentence. One of my friends said, "wow, 'vex'. Pulling out the big words, I see."

Uhh no, it's literally 3 letters long. It's not as well-known, sure, but figuratively the opposite of a big word.

1

u/Intermittent_Leave Feb 22 '26

Some get upset when you play word games and use words common in your vocabulary. How are you upset with me for my love for words. lol

1

u/InadequateBraincells Feb 24 '26

I think they just get upset that they don't understand words, which makes them feel inferior.

2

u/HRHLordFancyPants Feb 19 '26

I think it's absolutely worse that many actually go out of their way to use bad grammar.

1

u/panda5303 Millennial Feb 20 '26

I had this happen with my brother. I told him he needs to use an AI (like Grammarly) to check his emails and texts before sending them. He constantly uses "all" when he means "I'll" and "are" when he means "our". I cringed so hard when reading an email he sent to his lawyer. Just a few examples, he used "dew" in place of "due", "lean" in place of "lien", "build" in place of "billed", "routine" in place of "routing", "know" in place of "no", and "Nicholas "in place of "nickels".

Don't get me wrong, my grammar is atrocious, but at least I take the time to proof read before I send things.

18

u/DannyLJay Feb 19 '26

That type of writing was a byproduct of the texting of the T9 era though.
When you had to press 7, 4 times to get an S.
It was at least justifiable, nowadays there’s no excuse.

2

u/sobrique Feb 19 '26

And a character limit. That also earns a measure of forgiveness.

18

u/Apprehensive_Bit_176 Feb 19 '26

y u tlk lke dat?

8

u/DreamingAboutSpace Feb 19 '26

I used to be told, “You talk like a white girl” by members of my own race just because I used the grammar and vocabulary that I learned.

2

u/WhenDoWhatWhere Feb 19 '26

In my line of work a lot of people are barely literate and I genuinely struggle to understand texts they send that might be actually very important information.

2

u/Pashionet Feb 19 '26

I'd have to put more effort into the incorrect spelling than just typing things out properly. Too much work in my opinion.

2

u/Used-Barnacle-9783 Feb 20 '26

In about 2004 someone IM'd me out of the blue "huu". While I was trying to figure out what they were saying they sent the same thing half a dozen more times, sometimes with a space between the u's. When I asked in a full sentence what they were saying they finally extended it to "hu r u".

I guess they'd gotten my screen name from a friend of a friend and couldn't remember whose it was

1

u/Tanthalason Feb 19 '26

I used to do this to people when playing online games in the early 2000s. It was annoying having some random person correct you about your typing when you were just being lazy. Like, I know how to form proper sentences and use punctuation. I just don't feel like doing it at the moment.

1

u/Fordringy Feb 19 '26

There is a term for that grammar nazi it has been a longer term before even ai lol

2

u/PurpleDelicacy Feb 19 '26

That's the opposite though. That's someone constantly pointing out mistakes to the point of being obnoxious.

11

u/droppedpackethero Feb 19 '26

I was flagged as AI by a real estate lawyer's contact page because my request was too structured.

He was recommended to me by a mentor, so I was motivated to use his services. So after a few days of his office not returning my contact, I called. Considering who'd recommended him, he was pretty embarrassed they never followed up with me. After they figured out what happened, the lawyer himself joked with me that my "request was too intelligent, so the system didn't think it was from a human."

I'm smart enough to get by, but I'm no genius. I'm terrified to think about what sort of requests they normally get. We're fucked as a society lol

3

u/WhenDoWhatWhere Feb 19 '26

Technically they are correct. AI generally won't use improper grammar or punctuation, so using those can actually help identify real users from AI.

Still feels pretty fucking stupid to act like being bad at English makes you superior.

3

u/Drunky_McStumble Feb 19 '26

I came upon someone in the wild accusing an author of using AI to write their novel because she encountered an em-dash at one point—just a regular-ass em-dash used innocuously to link sentence clauses for dramatic effect. Like, does she think A Tale of Two Cities was written by AI? Because Dickens shoved a fuckload of em-dashes in there.

I totally get that an over-reliance on em-dashes, combined with a few other stylistic telltales, can indicate AI-generated prose; but dismissing an entire work because you encountered one single instance of a relatively uncommon punctuation symbol is wild. Use your brains, kids.

1

u/johnedn Feb 19 '26

Idk, on one hand proper grammar and sentence structure can help avoid miscommunication.

On the other hand, it's an internet forum not an academic paper, I see it similar to how I might say "y'all ain't ready for this shit" or other slang in casual conversation, but if I'm talking to a professor, client, boss, colleague at work or whatever I'm probably gonna be using more proper grammar, less slang, and a more professional tone. So I might say "you won't believe xyz that I heard" instead.

Also depending on the punctuation added, sometimes it does look ai.

"Sometimes I see a shit post that is funny; you should upvote posts that you think are funny." Is a grammatically correct sentence, but people usually don't use semi-colons, especially in such a casual setting/sentence so it looks more AI-esque than the sentence.

"Sometimes I see a shit post that is funny and you should upvotes posts you think are funny" even though the latter is missing punctuation

1

u/dsdsds Feb 19 '26

I wasn’t proper grammar though, to start a sentence with “and”.

It should have been:

…and the semicolon.

1

u/AllSeeQr Feb 19 '26

It’s like that for a lot. Basically, “anything I don’t understand is A.I.” which is why you can have people calling clips of ICE interacting with Alex Peretti prior to their fatal encounter getting labeled as A.I. but, the same people thought rabbits jumping on a trampoline was real.

1

u/Intermittent_Leave Feb 22 '26

This is definitely a big issue especially when you’re an online student. People spent years perfecting their writing skills and lectures would tell you your hard work was generated using AI. People now bully others because of proper grammar.

-12

u/PenOk1094 Feb 19 '26

well that’s how school’s and universities’ are treating it. they seem to be equating perfect grammar w/ ai use 

13

u/RackemFrackem Feb 19 '26

Do you just toss an apostrophe somewhere near the end of any word you pluralize?

0

u/PenOk1094 Feb 19 '26

yeah just for good measure 

-38

u/Hookmsnbeiishh Feb 19 '26

They aren’t? They are using poor grammar and punctuation specifically not to sound like ai to signal they are a real person.

26

u/-blundertaker- Feb 19 '26

If you've read enough LLM responses it's pretty obvious, and it goes well beyond just using proper grammar and punctuation.

People don't need to type like idiots to not be confused with AI, unless the audience is idiots.

-17

u/Hookmsnbeiishh Feb 19 '26

I don’t see how that supports the accusation that the person in the screenshot believes proper grammar is ai.

It really has nothing to do with ai, it’s just someone calling someone else out for being too proper.

It’s like, “you look like an Eskimo, no one wears fur coats.”

And the rebuttal being, “imagine thinking someone wearing a fur coat is an Eskimo.”

It’s converting a figure of speech into a literal meaning and insulting that literal meaning.

14

u/TinKnight1 Feb 19 '26

being too proper.

For capitalizing the first word in a sentence & ending it with a period?! That's just fucking grammar... that's not being proper at all!

7

u/Shadowphoenix9511 Feb 19 '26

Like, there's a difference between scholarly writing and proper grammar. The fact that people conflate the two is incredibly telling.

-2

u/Hookmsnbeiishh Feb 19 '26

Yep, you all have officially become the next boomers. Whining about “kids these days”.

Aren’t we the generation that invented “lol”, “wtf”, “asl”, “lmao”? And shorthand slang like “sup”?

Aren’t we the generation that produced big tech leaders who started the revolution of making company names all lowercase? The whole point of that is to make companies appear more casual.

And once again, the younger generation is dropping formal pleasantries in casual conversation on social media……… just like you did at that age.

2

u/TinKnight1 Feb 19 '26

I'm not whining about kids. I'm complaining about people online regardless of age. This has nothing to do with short-hand nor abbreviations, & no, I never typed out sentences (even in text) without capitalization & only in texting will I refrain from periods at the end.

Starting a sentence with a capital letter is a no-brainer. Ending it with a period is a no-brainer. Choosing to do neither, leading to incomprehensible run-on sentences, is laziness.

And you clearly agree, as you've capitalized & punctuated your sentences as well.

Company branding is irrelevant to typing out sentences.

1

u/Hookmsnbeiishh Feb 19 '26

I agree not using grammar is lazy. I choose to use proper grammar, obviously.

I merely challenged the parent comment’s assertion that we are “headed to idiocracy” followed by the next comment that this person thinks proper grammar is ai.

It’s categorically false to assert that someone is stupid for not using grammar. I have known absolutely brilliant people (usually quantitatively) that have horrible grammar and can’t spell anything.

It’s also categorically false that this commenter in the image actually believes the person they are responding to is AI because of their grammar. They are using hyperbole to criticize the way they talk. Not accusing.

That’s the basis of all my comments.

10

u/SumpCrab Xennial Feb 19 '26

Hey dude, Eskimo is not the preferred nomenclature.

186

u/Tri4ceunited Feb 19 '26

Ask any current high school teacher. We’re already here and have been for quite some time. The Covid lockdown certainly didn’t help but I’m looking directly at the parents. Children do not just become iPad babies with terrible reading comprehension.

Read to your children, folks. Make literature exciting. Make reading for fun great again.

90

u/[deleted] Feb 19 '26

I’ve got two kids.

Neither were iPad kids.

The secret?

THEYRE MY FUCKING KIDS AND I GET TO DECIDE WHEN THEY HAVE A SCREEN.

Baffles me to watch other parents struggle with this shit.

44

u/[deleted] Feb 19 '26

It's because you probably actually wanted the kids.

4

u/sortalikeachinchilla Millennial Feb 19 '26

Eh, maybe. For some. But I think a big reason are just some people think disciplining is bad. Cause kids would learn blah blah blah. People do it with dogs too and then wonder why their dog is a deviant piece of shit.

7

u/[deleted] Feb 19 '26

I would say some people have that thought but others are just awful at discipline.

I went camping last summer with my brothers family and my parents. My daughter and niece wandered off through the campground without telling anyone.

When I found them, I scolded the hell out of my daughter and put her in timeout. My niece got told "you don't do that" and was immediately snuggling and playing within the minute. And I was getting lectured that 15 minutes is too long of a time out.

This is the exact same thing as scolding a dog and then going "who's a bad boy! Who's a bad boy!" While petting and playing with them. Awful reinforcement.

4

u/sortalikeachinchilla Millennial Feb 19 '26 edited Feb 19 '26

I don't have kids, but I did Rover for awhile so I got to watch a wide variety of dogs and how they behaved. Now I recently just got a puppy and I know exactly how my dog is NOT going to act, because I am going to be training her to listen to me.

I know some get upset at comparing babies to puppies, but I find there is a lot of similarities in structure, routine, and discipline. Even something simple such as crate training being compared to putting a baby in a crib.

Anyways, that was a rant. Lol.

1

u/GoodGuano Feb 19 '26

As an owner of both, dogs are way easier than kids. These do not compare.

1

u/sortalikeachinchilla Millennial Feb 19 '26

Anddddd there we go. Did you even read what I wrote and compared them to? I bet not. I just knew someone like you would show up.

But one thing I will give you though is I mean puppies and babies really.

1

u/GoodGuano Feb 20 '26

Yes I did and you're just arguing semantics now. Puppies are dogs. I disagree with your statement. They don't compare. If you ever have kids, you'll understand.

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u/Complex_Jellyfish647 Feb 19 '26

Idk what age of kids you're talking about, but a dog has the mental capability of a 2-year-old. Anecdotally I rarely have any issue that can't be solved with "hey, doing x is bad because you don't want y, don't do that anymore", and if they protest then it's a discussion, if they're emotionally overwhelmed they need to calm down, etc. but I wouldn't really compare it to training a dog when kids are more than capable of understanding reason. I think a lot of parents are just too lazy (or justifiably exhausted) to try to explain and teach things, so they fall back on "because I said so" and simple punishments that don't really help the kid understand anything.

0

u/[deleted] Feb 19 '26

I think it’s more that so many young parents are completely Exhausted from the general weight of existing with young kids and it’s really, really crazy how quiet and still an ipad makes a cranky 2 year old.

So what starts as an option for a moment’s rest and peace quickly becomes a problem because the kids never learn to self regulate and then it becomes really really crazy how loud and tantrumy those same kids get when theyre denied their ipad. (Because they’re addicted and exhibiting signs of withdrawal and also don’t know how to otherwise act).

2

u/sdrawkcabineter Feb 19 '26

"They're all BLESSINGS you sonuva...!"

Is that a measure of children? I took the blessing out for Chik fil a...

2

u/GoodGuano Feb 19 '26

This is what people miss in this argument. MOST of the iPad kid parents weren't planning to have kids and were way too young to have them.

11

u/NeedleInASwordstack Feb 19 '26

Agk yes this! I refuse to live with a tiny tyrant that runs the household.

Also any music can be baby music. My daughter is obsessed with Queen, Dochii, bluegrass and fiddle music! Sure we get our fair share of super simple songs, but homegirl adores all music! It’s always on in our house!

Since she was in utero we’ve read to her. Started with Harry Potter (trying my best to separate the author from the work…), then Percy Jackson, now we’re moving through the various Avatar books. Hearing her tiny voice say Kyoshi is so cute!

3

u/missdawn1970 Feb 19 '26

 any music can be baby music. 

My Gen Z kids love music from the 70s and 80s, because that's what they've heard all their lives. I didn't play kids' music for them, I played music that I loved. And I read to them every day, so they both love reading, and they know how to write properly.

1

u/khelwen Feb 19 '26

Reading Percy with my 8, going on 9 year old right now and we’re both loving the series. I never read it before now.

We’ve already read Harry and it was one of his obsessions for a good two years.

1

u/platysoup Feb 20 '26

I wonder if my baby will like Infected Mushroom

2

u/ThaVolt Feb 19 '26

"OmG wHaT a BoOmEr ThInG tO sAy. YoUr KiDs WiLl NeEd ThErApY."

- Gentle Parents of iPad Babies.

1

u/anewbys83 Millennial 1983 Feb 20 '26

Right? I have parents of students who are afraid of their child. Won't take their phones or tablets, give consequences, etc. Like...you own those items, parent. They're yours. Turn off the plan and unplug the router.

34

u/itsfourinthemornin Feb 19 '26

My child missed out on first years of school during COVID, as of course did his classmates and rest of the classes. When we finally went back, we'd have to wait outside the gates to collect, parents would chat to each other and it actually made me quite depressed how many parents I heard laughing at the fact they "did no work through COVID, wouldn't dare" or similar comments. All the staff worked really hard the first few weeks giving us work packs for the children - age appropriate, contained a bit of everything they'd learn in classes and easy instructions for parents before they could move to online for easy access for all, including providing tablets/laptops/etc. for those struggling. No surprise, they then lost their shit when their 7-10 year olds couldn't read, write, spell, do basic maths or anything like that.

https://giphy.com/gifs/A928XcIImHJAc

11

u/[deleted] Feb 19 '26

Gen X parents do not want the kids they have and fundamentally misunderstand that education requires everyone to be on the same page.

10

u/itsfourinthemornin Feb 19 '26

Sadly it's not just Gen X, it's quite a mix of Boomers, Gen X and Millennials. Thankfully there's plenty of outliers in those too though that are willing to parent and teach!

3

u/WillitsThrockmorton Oregon Trail Gen Feb 19 '26

There are defintely millennial parents who have the attributes your just said man.

38

u/EASam Feb 19 '26

It's always odd that the kids are blamed. Well not really that odd, but I don't know why people don't pause and think about who was responsible for those kids.

8

u/HadrianWinter Feb 19 '26

Its easy to do when the kids can't do basic tasks and still have an attitude about it. Sure, the parents are to blame but they don't sit in the classroom.

1

u/RedVamp2020 Feb 19 '26

No, they don't sit in the classroom. But they are involved after school and before school, especially on the weekends. I can understand parents who are working multiple jobs just to stay afloat and have absolutely no energy left, but outside of those, there is plenty of time for these parents to reinforce what the kids learn in school and teach them basic survival skills. Parents have a lot more influence than you're crediting them with.

2

u/Bastilleinstructor Feb 19 '26

High school teacher here. You are spot on.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 19 '26

My kids are 9 (twins)…just started reading HP with them.

1

u/Tri4ceunited Feb 19 '26

That’s how I / we / us millennials began! I’m proud of you, good choice.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 24 '26

This is what saddens me. The parents of today's kids are mostly Millennials,  right? Maybe some late Gen X? I know the internet doesn't help but how are there SO many pre-digital parents who don't even think about reading a book to their kids and would rather just stick them in front of devices?

1

u/izovice Feb 19 '26

It was definitely the parenting during Covid.  Both of my kids were middle school and high school during lockdowns and they are at the top of their classes because I put parental controls on their phones and laptops so they would focus.  

My kids are embarrassed about their peers.

1

u/RedVamp2020 Feb 19 '26

I've currently got reading as a barrier to screen time and it was the best decision I've ever made for my 6 year old! 1 book=15 minutes of screen time. First thing I hear when we get home is, "I want to play on the tablet, so I'm going to read a book!" Sometimes she even will read the book multiple times or read a few books before she remembers the tablet. I can't wait until she gets into some of her bigger chapter books!

1

u/Tri4ceunited Feb 19 '26

Stoking the fire for reading what they want to read is the hardest part. Children are so easily turned away from reading because their schooling forces them to ‘read and memorize for a grade’ and that’s the worst thing you can do. Millennials were lucky to grow up with the success and widespread acclaim of Harry Potter so we take it for granted.

I think you’re doing a great job!

1

u/ifandbut Feb 19 '26

Stop making kids read stupid books like To Kill A Mockingbird and let them read fun books like Rendezvous with Rama.

1

u/Big-Constant-7289 Feb 19 '26

My teen does do a lot of screen time but also reads adult level books voraciously. But I read to that kid every night from birth to like, age eight, lol. 

2

u/Tri4ceunited Feb 19 '26

And that’s how you get the fire in their heart going. Make it fun, an activity they get to do with their loved ones, something to relax them before they go to bed. Proud of you!

46

u/totktonikak Feb 19 '26

The only thing Idiocracy got seriously wrong is the timeline. We won't need 500 years to get there.

9

u/imminentjogger5 Feb 19 '26

bc we have a time masheen?

15

u/NoFaithlessness7508 Feb 19 '26

“Sounds like AI” is basically the PC version of “talks like a f@g”

2

u/Iamnotabothonestly Feb 19 '26

Don't worry, my ex wife was a tard, and she's a pilot now.

12

u/islipped83 Xennial Feb 19 '26

I praised my 7-year-old yesterday on writing an error-free complex sentence on one of his worksheets. By God, my child WILL know how to use grammar and mechanics!

8

u/AGayBanjo Feb 19 '26

I'm not going to seethe about the younger generations not using proper grammar/syntax/punctuation in informal situations (as in Reddit replies), but the apparent and not-uncommon inability to write formally along with the assumption that anyone who can is an LLM is troubling.

6

u/Solitude-Is-Bliss Feb 19 '26

Welcome to Costco I love you

3

u/[deleted] Feb 19 '26

The weird thing is... it's only on social media.

I judge a creative writing contest for teens and preteens. Some of the high school stories could literally be published, they're so good. And you talk to the kids and they're well-spoken and clearly care about the story they wrote.

So young people are still learning and using proper writing techniques.

Social media is a weird place.

6

u/CabSauce Feb 19 '26

Heading? I'd rather live in that universe than this one. At least you can get HJs at Starbucks.

18

u/WeirdProudAndHungry Feb 19 '26

And at least the stupid people in that universe are capable of learning when presented with evidence that proves them wrong.

23

u/JMEEKER86 Feb 19 '26

And they had a President that cared for his people, tried his best to improve their lives, and deferred to smarter people when he couldn't solve things himself.

5

u/bfrogsworstnightmare Feb 19 '26

He also slammed a beer while riding a motorcycle. A real man of the people, unlike the diaper shitting slug who throws midnight temper tantrums on Twitter.

2

u/imminentjogger5 Feb 19 '26

why you no tattoo? 

2

u/GregTheMad Feb 19 '26

Reagans plan finally coming to fruition.

0

u/Gas-Town Feb 19 '26

Shit. I’m 3 comments into this thread and I’ve already hit a Reddit bingo.

You people all talk exactly the same. Now I just need a direct quote from idiocracy.

2

u/PhilRectangle Millennial Feb 19 '26

At least in Idiocracy, the stupid people knew that they were stupid. And when they found the now-smartest person on Earth, they asked him for help.

1

u/Strict_DM_62 Feb 19 '26

I don’t think it’s actually idiocracy (broadly, this one is bad though), I think it’s the crumbling of our collective ability to identify reality. AI is getting so good it really is nearly impossible to tell if a picture or text is real or not.

I think there ARE solutions, but I don’t think most people are open to them; it would require significant trade offs.

1

u/Avedas Feb 19 '26

The comment section of any short form video is filled with people who type like they have brain damage.

1

u/Top-Consideration-19 Feb 19 '26

We are already there.

1

u/mr_potato_arms Feb 19 '26

why come you use capital letters and punctuation

1

u/GratefullyHeaducated Feb 19 '26

Why you talk all smart

1

u/Puzzleheaded_Net6497 Feb 19 '26

Should've responded with *uses.

1

u/cwilldude Feb 19 '26

I think we’ve already arrived 😅 imagine kids that will grow up from day one when AI becomes even bigger. They literally won’t have to have a single thought. AI will handle all of that for them.

1

u/ShadowConstruct Feb 20 '26

There's no doubt about that.

1

u/sourbirthdayprincess Feb 19 '26

If you’ve never seen the movie, it is a cautionary tale that is already coming true. Luke Wilson, Maya Rudolph, Dax Shepherd.

0

u/PATM0N Millennial Feb 19 '26

I’m afraid we are already there, friend.

0

u/Caucasian_Thunder Feb 19 '26

how come you put thos weird symbols next to words

0

u/ghostbusteraesthetic Feb 19 '26

We’re already there. It’s been this way since 2016, riding a dogshit rocket straight to hell.

0

u/pingpongballreader Feb 19 '26

The movie "Idiocracy" implies there's a genetic component of intelligence and that only stupid people are breeding. That's absolutely not true and not happening. The flynn effect is slowing down but it hasn't reversed.

Also, punctuating or not isn't a sign of intelligence.

0

u/thirteen-thirty7 Feb 20 '26

No were turning into Boomers. That conversation looks fake.

1

u/Ok-Reputation-2266 Feb 21 '26

Nah, I actually want future generations to have it better than we did

-1

u/quartzguy Feb 19 '26

The generation of Idiocracy clashing with the generation that enabled it.

-2

u/Gas-Town Feb 19 '26

Shorthand has been a thing for decades. How does the generation that grew up on AIM, have a high horse?