I'm getting flamed for this but people who....

[ThisAintALoveSong]

Start every frigging statement or paragraph with the word 'so' as in 'so I was doing my shopping and I stubbed my toe blah blah'.

No. Just no.

Aibu or am I the only person who gets peeved reading posts and statuses like this? It doesn't isn't sound nice reading it out in my head. Do people talk like this in real life?

prepares to get flamed heavily

I alternate between like, so, well and to be fair. I know that I do it and I try really hard not to, it annoys me too, but it just sort of slips out.

I can't see why people would get so wound up about it. My husband was interviewed on women's hour bbc4 about his [work related] research - a real achievement! He spoke eloquently and got his points across well. Someone looked him up, found his work email address and emailed him just to write a lengthy piece about how shit he was because he began a couple of sentences "so..." Absolutely crippled his confidence

My conclusion: you'd have to be some kind of cunt to actually give a fuck about people saying "so" to begin a sentence.

Overuse of 'literally' can be very amusing, though. 'He showed me his new flat and I literally exploded with envy...' No, you didn't, unless you are talking from the afterlife.

To email about it, yes. To notice it and tut tut slightly over the morning tea, no.

If a post starts with So in my head the voice reading the post is an American Clueless/Mean Girls type voice.

I can't decide whether 'no. Just no' is more or less annoying than the equally irksome but also more passive aggressive, 'Wow. Just wow.'

Hmm. No, I hate both equally.

'So...' is just so coy and Instagrammy, as if the OP has to set a delightful scene to help you better understand the outrageous tale of personal affront suffered at the hands of awful MILs/rude checkout staff/some random woman with a Labrador which looked at her funny at the school gate.

Buscake, I can see why that would be a kick in the teeth after his achievement and not a nice thing to do as it was personally directed at him. That's twattish, I agree.

is not a wind up. people just judge me because i have what u call a chavy accent. I'm not saying your wrong i dont mean that. just don't know whats wrong with it. is it that bad?

User - it's not morally or legally wrong. I just find it annoying but I'm just one opinion in a sea of many. Some find it annoying, others don't. Depends on the person.

BusCake whoever did that was a complete arsehole and I hope your husband realises that it says more about them that it did him!

And to make him feel better I was interviewed on Sky News about something, it did the rounds on twitter and someone who didn't agree with my POV wrote underneath 'I just want to slap mycat round the face with a wet fish* Please tell him that to cheer him up!

I don't really care what people start their sentences with. But I didn't like it when it became popular on facebook to write 'So today I will be mostly.....' I don't know why!

I really like the fact I am non judgemental 😇

People can be so cruel mycat

I get annoyed by the new trend of explaining things by saying 'because' and then just a single word or phrase. 'So, I find running difficult because, big breasts.'

So, we haven't had a good night sleep in ages because, toddler'

This does seem to be accompanied by the annoying 'so, ...' as well. It doesn't take much to include the words 'of' and 'my'

ThisAintALoveSong I know. Whenever we're asked at work to do some media we get people either writing stuff like that online or emailing us paragraphs about why we're so awful. Doing media is the part of my job I like the least and luckily it doesn't happen on a regular basis but when it does I've actually had the trots beforehand I get so terrified. I'm getting older now, and don't care so much but when I was younger I had crippling low self esteem and if someone had written that then I would have been absolutely gutted. Thank God social media hadn't been invented then!

I can't really see the harm but I suppose it could get irritating. I find I start everything with 'I must say.....'' What does really annoy me and it's getting more and more used is this I could of and I would of. Please no.

I don't understand why people do it. It's three totally unnecessary key strokes, multiplied if they keep doing it, which they often do? I get it that in conversation it may in effect give a bit of thinking time, but it's hardly necessary when someone is writing.

It's just one of the many ways people use language to mask nerves or fear of rejection. There's something very non-commital or indirect about it

That's a perceptive pov. I hadn't thought about it like that, but it kind of makes some sense.

I probably have a load of verbal ticks and habits that I don't know about.
They are going to annoy people.
I have a very 'working class' accent and that is enough to consign me forever to the dregs of humanity according to a lot of MNers. I should not be allowed to teach children or go near anyone I may influence

So I think its fine for me to get irritated by 'so...' and 'does that make sense?' and that thing where people go UP at the end of a sentence (unless its their proper accent).

I love a bit of slang and dialect though.

AYankin - I can understand how that applies verbally and that doesn't bother me. People often need to buy time in a conversation, it's on a par with using 'erm' or similar. No problem with that whatsoever.

I don't think the same applies when writing a FB post or narrating the days events in written form. I don't think it's down to nerves. It's a trend thing that people don't seem to question. Its not the correct use of the English language and since it's only come about in the past couple of years as a trend, it makes me think 'hold on a minute, you've gone through your whole life articulating yourself sensibly (in written form) and now you're suddenly unsure as to when to use the simple word 'so' '.

I'm sorry, it just doesn't make sense.

I've got what may be considered a 'working class' accent too, I am embarrassingly northern and my accent is quite broad

Maybe another reason why I don't get 'so' as someone said upthread, it's a middle class thing. I didn't know that.

'No, just no' is on a par with 'all the time' having superfluous full stops. As in 'My daughter gets up at 5am. All. The. Time.'

'Erm' to start a sentence to indicate a bit of faux coyness/sheepishness is very annoying too. Oft used for pregnancy announcements 'Erm, so I took a test. And this happened.'

The "so" sentences bug me too but not half as much as the "when" sentences prevalent on fb for some reason.

E.g. "when you've been up every hour with the baby and have to be at work for 7"
"When you drink six pints and wake up with one shoe"
"When you get home to find the dog has eaten the telly remote"

Why?! Why can't people speak in ordinary past tense sentences anymore! I keep wondering if there is a generation of children growing up thinking that is actually how you structure a sentence!

Argh. Yes, the 'when' sentences. Usually followed by 'This.'

Well 'no, just no' with a comma instead wouldn't read right. And I used it for impact. People who do All. The. Time. are annoying.

People who use 'When such a thing....' I always want them to complete their sentence. E.g. 'When you've been awake with teething baby all night, you are extremely fucked the next day'.