Gary Martin: We've taken language to the extreme, and that's no exaggeration

The everyday kerfuffle is under threat as the language we use increasingly turns minor mishaps into major crises. And this claim – unlike almost everything else – has not been blown out of proportion. Modern life is being catastrophically consumed by a terrifying, society-shattering and seemingly unstoppable epidemic of exaggeritis. That's right. We are rapidly becoming a community of drama queens, crisis kings and catastrophe creators. We've adopted a tendency to take every minor setback or inconvenience by the throat and to magnify it tenfold. If in doubt, look and listen wherever you go. Once upon a time, you'd hear a delayed appointment described as inconvenient. Now it's often portrayed as a sheer nightmare. Not so long ago, a disappointing meal was passed off as poor. Today it's regularly labelled a screaming disaster. And while a sudden change of plans was once described as upsetting, it is now said to plunge everything into extreme chaos. Even an ordinary and healthy disagreement now risks being diagnosed as a bitter conflict, brutal showdown or all-out war. The humble kerfuffle, once the go-to word for a minor fuss or commotion, barely gets a look-in. A kerfuffle used to suggest that something had gone slightly wrong. There might have been a misunderstanding, a few raised voices or some unnecessary fuss. But, at the end of the day, civilisation remained intact. Now, the slightest disturbance is pumped up until it sounds worthy of its own AusAlert. Part of the appeal of overstating things is screamingly obvious. Drama demands attention. And on social media platforms, it earns clicks, comments and sympathy. An ordinary irritation can seem way too dull to post about. But if you sprinkle it with a touch of doom, disaster or devastation – then suddenly – there is a story worth sharing. It is also true that we copy the language we hear around us. Words such as traumatic, unsafe, toxic and triggering have slipped into daily conversation. And overstating things can also simply feel good. It lets off steam and wins sympathy. It also makes an ordinary story sound far more interesting. Of course, exaggeration is hardly new. People have always laid things on thick and made mountains out of molehills. What has changed is how quickly exaggerated language spreads. Like a very nasty rash, it has become the standard way of describing everyday life. Yet there is a world of difference between being uncomfortable and being unsafe. There's also a sizeable gap between being criticised and being bullied. And there's a marked difference between encountering a difficult person and surviving a toxic relationship. Exaggeritis has a nasty habit of wiping out those distinctions. And therein lies the real problem. When everything is described as extraordinary, catastrophic, devastating or unprecedented, eventually nothing is. Perhaps it is time to tone our language down just a notch or two – or even three. This is not about dismissing genuine pain, distress or extreme hardship. And it certainly does not mean pretending that serious problems do not exist – because they do. But it means choosing words carefully and trying to match them to the experience. Let us eradicate the raging epidemic of exaggeritis before it brings society to its knees. Consider that one final exaggeration. Professor Gary Martin is CEO of AIMWA and a specialist in workplace and social trends