Monday, June 25, 2018

'The video has gone viral'

(Sorry, if you were expecting to see such a video.)

I am so tired of hearing the word 'viral' for messages or audio or video clips that have been forwarded or circulated by a large number of people in a short span of time.

The word is such a cliché.

Isn't there a synonym for 'viral', or a single word to describe such messages or videos?

14 comments:

  1. I always associate the word “viral” with viral infection. May be these videos are like widespread infections caused by viruses.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I guess, that is origin of the term, Rajan.

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  2. That's why they're called viral. Because they're like infections that widely spread in a short time.

    If you want to change the term, you'll need to come up with a better one. There are probably enough people out there who hate the term as much as you do to support it.

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    Replies
    1. I too hate the term, Liz, and I am looking for an alternative.

      Delete
  3. I think what's worse is the type of inane content that keeps going viral and impinging on my feeds.

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    Replies
    1. Often these forwards are a menace, Kanika. Mainly because, people blindly forward them to groups.

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  4. Yes, the word 'viral' reminds us of viral fever. They could use wide-spread , well-spread, popular, known or any other equivalent.

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  5. How about scourge or digital scourge?

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  6. The very few videos that actually go viral are fine. But the ones that are claimed to be viral but are actually ads in disguise are irritating!

    Destination Infinity

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    Replies
    1. Very true, Rajesh. Lot of people also blindly forward messages and clips.

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  7. I'm not sure of a synonym for it. It seems to be one of those words that kind of snuck into the lexicon. We might need a new one all together.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks a lot, Oneil, for dropping by and for the comment. Indeed, we will have to look for some other word to give us a relief from constantly hearing the word 'viral'.

      Delete

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