Even though I work in the world of mass media, sometimes it bothers me how much the media penetrates our lives. There seems to be some sort of brainwashing power the media holds over us, as we remember and parrot the most annoying things revealed to us in television, movies and music.

These are ten phrases from the last ten years that I never want to hear again. In fact, if I hear you say it I just might slap you. There, I said it. Consider yourself warned.

In no particular order:
“Wazzup?!?”, or “Wassup?!?”
Like many super bowl commercials, this was the gift that kept on giving. Even when I asked it to stop.

“Git ‘r done!”
In the spirit of full disclosure, I’ve never liked rednecks. Or poor grammar.

“I’m kind of a big deal.”
Chances are, you’re not. Please stop telling me you are.

“In these (tough) economic times…”
I can’t count how many times I’ve heard this phrase in the last two years. Yes, we get it. Move on.

“Oh, snap!”
Oh, shut it.

“Debrief”
If you’re in the military, you can go to debriefings. But this term has become so commonplace. I particularly dislike hearing it in the context of Christian activities. It seems like every missions trip, retreat, and bake sale needs a debriefing.

“Emo”
For the first part of the last ten years, the term “emo” was used to describe anything that didn’t fit a specific category. Music was emo. Haircuts were emo (specifically, mine. It got old fast.). Deserts were emo.

“I’m Rick James, b—-!”
I love Dave Chappelle as much as the next guy, but that doesn’t mean that every frat bro in the world needs to quote it. It’s funny when Dave says it, not you.

“Holla back”
I’m sorry, you want me to holler back? I don’t holler anything.

“OMG”, “LOL” and smiley faces
Technically, this may have started in the mid-to-late 90s, but it exploded in the last ten years. I would say something snarky like, “You teenage girls need to learn to write correctly,” but considering my peers and elders invented and adopted this language I can’t help but feel partly responsible.

I’m sure the next decade will give light to many more phrases that bother me, but I’m hoping we can at least leave a few of these in the past.