Errybody

Way back in the 6th grade I was taught that using words like "every", "always", and "never" are used as trigger words for incorrect answers on standardized tests. I would scan the page for those three words, circle them and skip those answers. I knew they were wrong and to choose them would mean a lower score...yet kids today use "everyone" and "everybody" all the time. I've even caught myself saying things like, "You don't know who Eazy E is?! Everybody knows who Eazy E is!" So why do I, knowing full well that not everyone knows what I'm talking about, say things like everybody?

Now, the groups I converse with are around 90% under 30. By that I mean those I've interviewed, people I talk to day to day, people I bump into, meet, tweet, Facebook stalk, Skype and generally communicate with are almost entirely under 30 years old. 9 times out of 10 they will say things like, "Everybody loves Jersey Shore" or "I've always loved Wiz Khalifa." In fact, I went through my notes, both paper and AudioNote, and high lighted every single 'everyone/everybody' I found. 307 times in some 25 noted conversations. It cannot seem possible that eeeeeeverybody loves Jersey Shore, or Wiz Khalifa...hell, I didn't know who Wiz Khalifa was until 3 months ago when my brother (20) started mouthing off about Cush and OJ (Warning Elicit Language)...and yet eeeeeverybody loves Wiz.  Now, you know me, if something's got my goat I'm going to figure it out.

I did some premium Facebook stalking and realize that my [Facebook] friends' networks were enormous. I'm talking one of my cousins literally has 2,000 friends...on Facebook. Fortunately most of her friends' profile pages were public so I did a little experiment: 2,000 friends in 2 hours. I wanted to see just how many statuses, opinions, perspectives, and individuals I can come in contact with over the course of 2 hours.

I didn't video tape this but maybe I should have... 

Astounding!

I made contact with around 12,000 people spending less than a minute reading their status or looking at their picture. Some statuses were funny, some sad, ...some a little angry. 

Here's my point: On an average day kids are coming in contact with more people than some adults have met in their entire lives, in different countries, on different continents, with opposing points of view...and remember, to kids their friends know everything, so they better not hate you. They better not hate your product...or think your song is stupid...although if they hate you enough it could make you a cult classic, "We're laughing at you, not with you" kind of thing. Anyway, when my brother, or any kid for that matter, says "everybody" he kind of means everybody...or an outstanding sample size.