Society has evolved in the last few years. We’ve gone from flip phones to the iPhone 6, from shiny cargo pants to the revival of high-waisted jeans, and even Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to The Fault in our Stars. I think it’s safe to say we’ve changed a lot since 2000, but the phenomenon that’s surprised me the most is how lenient we’ve become to profanity.

Back in the 2000s there was a fine line between cursing and keeping it G, but nowadays not so much. We create substitute words/phrases to get our message across whilst avoiding any obscenity, such as “shizzle” or “shut the front door.” Even literature has become more tolerant of cursing, novels with profanity receiving a giveaway of $5000 for fiction, poetry, & drama authors.

I don’t think it’s right.

Our generation has grown up thinking that we can swear wherever and to whomever we like, but we can’t. We must have a filter. We can’t walk about throwing around inappropriate language as though it’s the most casual thing in the world. What will become of us? Cussing around our grandmothers or swearing in essays? There must be a line or else we won’t know when we cross it.

Now don’t get me wrong, ranting explicitly to your friend or having profanity in music is perfectly fine with me, but speaking this way in your work environment or around minors should not be accepted. It’s like we skipped a step in our development where we learned what to say and what not to say.

I can’t tell you how many times I’m shopping or ordering food and one of the workers will slip up, murmuring a swear under his/her breath. Personally, that doesn’t affect me, but it does affect my opinion of the restaurant or department store. In all honesty, would you rather shop at a store where they curse, acting unprofessional, or a store where they carry themselves with dignity and treat the work environment as it should be treated? The second option sounds pretty nice to me.

We can’t control a lot in life, but we can monitor what we say. So the next time you feel like swearing, look around and make sure the environment is appropriate for that type of language.