Whether you always notice it or not, the word ‘like’ is a very common occurrence in the English language. However, the typical use of ‘like’ isn’t actually correct. When it’s not used to compare two things or convey emotion–the only two official definitions of the word–it is being used incorrectly in a variety of ways. It seems that the word’s appearance has recently increased in high schools; anyone having a conversation with a teen is pretty much guaranteed to hear ‘like’ numerous times. Adults often complain about the overuse, claiming that it is a new and annoying phenomenon in today’s teenagers. But, why is this? Where did the word come from, why is it so popular now and is it really something that only teens use so much? Contrary to popular belief, the improper use of the word isn’t a new thing. ‘Like’ has been used since 1778 as postponed filler at the end of a sentence. For instance, “He is really tall, like.” Even the mid-sentence (called a presumed emphatic) usage that we know and love today has been around since the 1950s. “He is, like, really tall.” Parents and adults typically refer to ‘like’ as being a staple in teen conversation. While this may be true, the word isn’t something that was invented and confined to the millennial generation that high schoolers are a part of. During the 1980s and 1990s the word ‘like’ became heavily associated with Valley girls – the ditzy, popular, upper-class teens that are often stereotyped in the media. This is where the word probably began to be connected to today’s generation of teens. Although, ‘like’ has been around much longer than its notorious users have. The modern mid-sentence use of the word was made popular by the beat counter-culture of the 1950s; a beatnik character on a TV show from 1959, Maynard G. Krebs, is the one who brought it to the attention of the public. The word grew in popularity throughout the 1960s where even more celebrity instances of it began showing up. Shaggy from Scooby Doo was a repeat offender. Even earlier than Shaggy, teens in the novel “A Clockwork Orange” often used it as part of their slang. If this is true, then why aren’t our parents – the majority of whom were born shortly after this time–using ‘like’ when they speak? They are, in a way. The word ‘like’ is a filler word, used just as any “um” or “ah” is. As annoying as some people may find it, filler words are extremely important to everyday conversation. It gives the person speaking an extra second to stop and think about what they need to say next. Not only that, but it also is a useful strategy on keeping the upper-hand in a conversation. Using ‘like’ instead of pausing leaves less of a chance for someone else to jump in and steal the spotlight. Everyone uses fillers for these reasons, even if they don’t realize it. Adults may not use the word ‘like’ in an improper manner as much as teens do, but they still use filler words in the same way. It is just as likely to hear “um” when an adult is giving a board meeting presentation, as it is to hear “like” during a speech a high school student is giving in Communications. The reason it is much more obvious in teen language is because teens don’t just use the word as filler. ‘Like’ is often used to signal quoted speech, as in “she was like, ‘I really need to go tanning.’” Adults will frequently use the proper word in this instance, e.g. “she said,” or, “she stated ‘I really need to go tanning.” Also, for teens, it is used to signal an emotion or an exaggeration such as, “I, like, died when he said that.” Since adults aren’t submersed in this type of speech on a regular basis like teens are, it is more likely for it to stick out to them; in return, they are more likely to comment on it. However, this isn’t to say using the word out of context is strictly a teen thing. Phone conversations gathered by the Linguistic Data Consortium (LDC) showed that adult females used ‘like’ an average of 11.75 times per conversation. Adult males used it even more at an average of 12.47 times per conversation. They even used phrases such as “like totally” and “like wow.” The usage of the word ‘like’ may seem that is restricted to teens, but in reality, it seems that this stereotype is just that: a stereotype.