What the heck? Casual cursing by teens is rising

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Adolescents and preteens are swearing more publicly than ever — especially at school, experts say.

It's conversational swearing — in the hallways and in the classroom — that is on the rise, says Timothy Jay, one of the leading scholars on cursing in the United States.

Teens are more likely to drop casual expletives, or "fillers," than the generation before them and have more trouble adjusting their conversation to fit their audience. That means adults — especially strangers who cannot sanction the teens — hear more of the same language that the teens' friends hear, says Jay, author of "Why We Curse" and "Cursing in America."

He estimates that the average adolescent uses roughly 80 to 90 swear words a day.

"Elementary school teachers report that children are using more offensive language at school than they have in the past," says Jay, who is compiling data for a study he will complete in the fall examining preteens and swearing. "They have been breaking the rules at school more frequently in the last 10 years."

Jay, a psychology professor at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, Mass., has been studying swearing trends since the 1970s. He points out that language values in the United States constantly change.

"Our language values are shifting, and it's just different, not better or worse," he says.

At R.W. Emerson Junior High in Davis, seventh-grader Kaley McGrew, 13, hears peers using cuss words as fillers when they can't think of another way to express themselves.

"Some people swear and they don't even think about what they are doing; they just say it," she says. "It's just become casual to them, but to some people who don't swear, it can be shocking."

Emerson counselor Michael Leahy says that for the most part the students at the school know when to turn off the loose language they use with their friends when talking to him.

"But in the hallways, the kids are in their own little worlds, and all sorts of language is flying every which way," he says. "I think that the lines between public and private language have become blurred for our kids."

Like Leahy, the Emily Post Institute's Cindy Post Senning, co-author of "Teen Manners: From Malls to Meals to Messaging and Beyond," recommends talking to adolescents about the public image they want to convey through language.