Linguistic creativity on digital platforms

Abstract Social media platforms function as key environments for the creation, modification, and eventual standardisation of neologisms. This study seeks to investigate the communicative objectives of internet users when employing linguistic forms that have not yet been incorporated into conventional language. The real-time, interactive nature of social media accelerates the diffusion and transformation of novel linguistic expressions, making it an optimal setting for examining language adaptation in response to users’ needs and technological limitations. By analysing neologisms across three prominent platforms, namely TikTok, X and Instagram, the research aims to identify the motivations driving linguistic innovation. This study contributes to the understanding of neologism production and linguistic creativity in digital contexts, offering an updated framework for their analysis and demonstrating that social media acts as an active catalyst in linguistic evolution, rather than a passive repository of language change.