Why do so many people use the "f" word so much when talking ?

I don’t know. I wish they wouldn’t. I used to never say it but with the kids gone I sometimes do, sparingly.
I think it’s the “in” thing.

It’s a word. Some people use it, some people do not. It can be a very expressive word. I use it. I don’t include fuck in every sentence, but if it fits, I use it. Like any other word, if you use it repetitively, it loses its effect.

I like Stephen Fry’s take on swearing generally.

It’s just part of my fucking vocabulary…. It’s just a word… I try not to use it in a professional setting, or around kids. But I feel like it shouldn’t be a big deal.

Fuck fuck fucking fuckity fuck

So funny when people who dislike swearing exaggerate…

“so many people”
“every other word”

It’s just a word like any other, get over yourselves

It’s an indication that they have no imagination, or are just too lazy to use descriptive language. The more swear words someone uses, the lazier or more unimaginative they are.

Lazy, unimaginative…oh the irony :D

I first heard English teachers say that. There’s something to their observation.

@ucme or are you saying I am lazy or unimaginative? I don’t care what you think of me, but I’m trying to follow your train of thought.

Ok. I took the time to watch the video @Earthbound_Misfit provided. I couldn’t understand much of it, but these people were using a broad and creative vocabulary. That is not the case with the person that @Dutchess_III described, where they used the f word “every other word.”

Like any other word generalizing about usage is silly. Angry, uneducated thugs on a street corner using it frequently denotes a completely different attitude or circumstance than an erudite woman using it frequently in her living room with friends (that would be me) to denote humorous displeasure with an occurrence.

Context is everything.

Maybe the every other word usage is an “in your face” version of how others might use “um”, or “uh”.

Why the fuck not you fucking fuck, fuck you.

I don’t give a fuck.

A symptom of cultural decadence

It means having no manners whatsoever.It really says a lot about the person when they speak in such way!.

An absolute breakdown of civilization.

The apoca-fucking-lypse!

remember the holocaust? nothing compared to people saying “fuck”.

It’s like an exclamation point on a exclamation point.

Where I grew up, we used it as not just an adjective, but the adjective of choice.

“I was walking by the fucking pahk and this fucking retard drives his fucking bike right past. Almost fucking killed me!! Then, the fucking hegna starts fucking screaming at me, like I was in his fucking way. Fucking dipshit moron that fucker.”

Sadly, I’m not exaggerating. I don’t talk like that anymore — mostly.

What the fuck?!?!?!?!

@cookieman Were Matt Damon and Ben Affleck your pals?

My best friend is like this and it’s spread to his girlfriend now. They both say things like “yeah, fuckin’, come over sometime, we’re here, fuckin’, most weekends, we can go to, fuckin’, SF or something and, fuckin’, just chill”. There’s always a pause before and after the “fuckin’”. It’s like they say it in place of “um” and use it as nothing more than a hesitation marker.

It’s kind of infectious, I’ll admit. When I’m around them it starts to rub off on me, and I’ll be, fuckin’, one of these people who can’t stop lol.

The eff-word is both habit-forming and contagious. The more a person uses it, the more comfortable and frequent it becomes. Also, if someone’s surrounded by friends or family members who eff[this] and eff[that] frequently, the person becomes inured and might do the same.

Personally, I try to save that word for when I’m really angry, or when I’ve just done something clumsy and painful. It’s more meaningful that way!

@janbb: Ha! No, but my friends and I were very similar to them and I grew up just outside of Boston, only a few miles from Southie. So yeah — Wikked Pissah!

It depends on an individual.
In general, people tend to swear more when angry, stressed out, or in pain. It helps them relax.
Some people grew up in an environment where swearing is more tolerated. Some cultures, or other social groups, swear more than others.
Sometimes, people think swearing shows the lack of class and/or ignorance, which could be true, but it’s pretty much a stereotype. and it implies that “educated” and “well mannered” people don’t swear, which is an elitist and a snobbish thing to say. .
It can also be an individual trait; some people have a bit more loose tongue than others.
Swearing can also make the statement have a bigger effect on the listener. It could be used as an emphasis.

That said, the only thing wrong about swearing is when it’s used in strictly formal situations, where it would be perceived as inappropriate. Otherwise, not really.

@snowberry Not that it really matters, but I did not say anything about some people using it every other word. The OP did.

With my relatives speaking the way they speak, with the neighbors being older and what I heard as I was growing up I find it repulsive and a sign of a low level of education and/or a history of incarceration. My grandson hangs out with a drug dealer who uses it constantly. Therefore, I only use it if something terrible happens like if I break something like my skull . It’s quite handy to let off steam .

I get the impression that people who cuss in every sentence aren’t so smart either. But I could be wrong.

It is more of a cultural thing than an intelligence thing. I’ve read studies (which of course I can’t find to link). In the 50s, because of the much harsher divisions of class and gender, it was a much greater indication of socio-economic placing. By the late 60s, there was a remarkable shift in attitudes.

I never heard my parents cuss. I didn’t cuss around my kids.

Well, good for you. My parents cussed (what a lovely quaint word!) only in very extreme circumstances, I cussed under much less extreme circumstances. In my family we are all degreed and erudite. It’s just not that big a deal.

My mom told me in secret that dad sometimes like to say “Shit bird”! But I never heard him.

“Shit bird”? I love shit bird! That is so cute!
Thanks for that, @Dutchess_III, I will be smiling all day, now. :-D

:D

I never said it was from a lack of intelligence, but it gives the impression people using it A LOT don’t come across as very intelligent.
I do say it but try and keep it to a minimum.
I agree with @canidmajor (shock) that it is all in the context.
And you do try and limit when around certain people, for those of you that say it’s just a word get over it, yeah? You like people saying it a lot around young children, elderly people, church groups?“Let’s get fucking choir practice over so we can get the fuck out of here.”
Anyways thanks for all the great answers, and keep em fucking coming ok?

I agree. They may be intelligent, but that isn’t your first impression when you hear them talk.

LOL! My 4 year old granddaughter was helping my daughter spread some garden soil about. Suddenly she stopped, made an awful face and said, “Mom! It smells like shit over here!”
She wasn’t cussing. She meant it literally smelled like shit! They used manure in it! My daughter said, “Oh, I couldn’t laugh in front of her, but how can you NOT laugh?” So she made a pretext of going some place else for a bit.