'Sexting' tops list of Britain's most annoying new 'geek-speak' - but 'Intexticate' is close behind

By ROB WAUGH
Updated:

'Sexting' was Britain's least-favourite piece of technology jargon - but terms such as 'intexticate', 'defriend' and 'Twittersphere' followed close behind

'Sexting' was Britain's least-favourite piece of technology jargon - but terms such as 'intexticate', 'defriend' and 'Twittersphere' followed close behind

If you wince when you hear it then you are not alone in thinking 'sexting' is the most irritating phrase to have entered our lexicon this year.

It topped a YouGov poll of 2,054 adults in the UK which revealed our least favourite new technology jargon of 2011.

'Sexting' – meaning ‘the sending of sexually explicit photographs or messages by mobile phone’ – was the clear winner with 24 per cent of votes cast.

The runner-up was 'Intexticated', with 13 per cent of the vote - meaning ‘unable to concentrate while driving due to being distracted by texting’.

'Defriend', with eight per cent, meaning, 'to remove someone from one’s list of friends on social networking site.'

Britain's Computeractive magazine, which conducted the poll, awarded 'sexting' its 'Unspeakable Award' for the worst new piece of technology jargon.

The prize was awarded for the ‘new, technology-related word most likely to make you wince, grimace or want to bang your head on the keyboard.'

SORRY, CAN'T THINK, I'M INTEXTICATED

1. Sexting: The sending of sexually explicit photographs or messages by mobile phone
2. Intexticated: Unable to concentrate while driving because of being distracted by texting.
3. Defriend: To remove someone from one’s list of friends on a social networking site.
4. Twittersphere: The collective noun for all postings/Tweets on Twitter.
5. Tweetup: A meeting or get-together that has been organized via Tweets on Twitter.
6. Hacktivist: Someone who hacks into computer data as a form of activism.
7. Clickjacking: Maliciously manipulating a web-user’s action by concealed hyperlinks.
8.= Twitpic: A picture posted as a Tweet on Twitter.
8.= Scareware: A malicious program designed to trick users into buying unnecessary software such as fake antivirus protection.
8.= Dot-bomb: An Internet venture (dotcom) that has failed and/or gone bankrupt.

The aim, the magazine said, was to promote the use of clear English and battle the technology world's addiction to jargon.

‘There’s no arguing that 'intexticated', 'defriend' and 'Twittersphere' are all unspeakable words’, says Paul Allen, editor of Computeractive.

‘But 'sexting' is a worthy winner.'

'When you first hear it, you don't know whether to wince, howl or just weep for the English language.'

'Any word voted more horrible than ‘intexticated’ deserves an award.’

The incident that made 'sexting' famous involved the use of Twitter rather than a mobile phone, referring to US Congressman Anthony Wiener's Twitter message of a suggestive picture to a 21-year-old woman.

The incident led, in June 2011, to Weiner’s resignation.

Many of the words in the top ten seem to involve Twitter - possibly due to the large number of different apps users use to access it, which has led to a lot of compound words.

The voters chose from a shortlist of words determined by Computeractive.




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