Sociolinguistics of the digital environment: social media slang as a catalyst for lexical innovations in the English language

The article examines the sociolinguistic dynamics of digital communication within English-speaking social media environments. The research explores linguistic globalization, which is manifested through the variability in creating new lexemes and the formation of media-induced neologisms on such Internet platforms as Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, X, Threads, YouTube, and TikTok. By analyzing virtual discursive practices, the research highlights changes in technology-mediated communication. The aim of this research is to focus on the emergence of lexical innovations and their implications for slang lexicography, particularly within the context of English Internet discourse and linguistic creativity in the digital environment. The research methodology is based on a comprehensive lexical analysis of social media data, statistical portals, academic sources, and digital blogs. The study examines the role of Internet communication in fostering new lexical units, reconstructing their semantic structure and tracing their shift from secondary to primary nomination. Additionally, it explores the sociocultural adaptation of emerging vocabulary and the alternation of linguistic standards, reflected in society’s tendency to use emphatic and expressive means. Furthermore, social media platforms have contributed to generational linguistic differentiation, where different generations exhibit distinct features in synchronous and asynchronous dialogues. The article also addresses pragmalinguistic aspects of slang and the multimodal communicative paradigm, which integrates textual, visual, and hypertextual components into modern digital discourse. The findings emphasize the influence of media on cognitive linguistics, sociocultural behavior patterns, and the evolution of global and local linguistic practices within the digital dimension. The study of neologisms in social networks can help in the development of effective language policy strategies, adaptation of educational programs and improvement of lexicographic resources.