Keeping up with Internet slang and trends nowadays can seem impossible. A new viral word or challenge pops up weekly (if not daily), and those who spend little time online often struggle to understand them when they appear on their feed. Even though it’s not new, I still find it difficult to pinpoint what it means exactly when something ‘goes hard.’ It might be because the term has many different interpretations. However, the main consensus is, according to Urban Dictionary, that something has to be interesting, cool, or dope to be considered ‘hard’ in internet culture.
To really understand what it means, we have a whole list of some of the hardest images online, courtesy of the ‘Hardest Post’ Instagram account. Scroll down to find them below, and don’t forget to upvote those photos that embody your definition of ‘going hard.’
While you're at it, make sure to check out a conversation with Tony Thorne, a language consultant at the Centre for International Education and Languages at King's College London, who kindly agreed to chat with us more about Internet slang.
Thorne adds that what's currently happening with Internet slang is that content creators are purposely trying to come up with new terms to gain prestige or create an online identity, this way making it a commodity.
"We are actually dealing with a very new phenomenon whereby influencers, TikTok stars and content creators are using online resources to consciously, deliberately create, promote and spread new terms, so slang is no longer just coming 'up from the streets' (or being spread via music, TV and movies) and is no longer just a spoken variety of language but is a 'commodity' or part of 'social capital' generated to gain prestige or 'curate an online identity,'" he concludes.
