RIP The Definite Article

[TonyMammoth]

Am I alone in mourning this? Yes it's social media but the word 'the' has all but disappeared.

People are going gym
Asking "does anyone no anyone reliable to put tv on wall"
Anyone recognise this tradesman went out of his way to cut branch down with recip saw with rope swing on kids played on everyday. 9:55am today

@mnhq feel free to move to Pedants' Corner if it would fit better there.

You’re not wrong. I have to admit to that myself. It’s just laziness. (I nearly left the its off the last sentence then too!)

You kind of answered your own question when you said “Yes it's social media”. People aren’t speaking like that in real life.

I am training the children in my class by ignoring the, 'Can I go toilet?'

Good.

It's a bit late for a funeral now.

This has been going on for over 20 years 😳

Where do we stand on The The?

Clipped in Yorkshire for at least 160 years. Wikipedia extract (I've put the relevant bits in bold):

The following is an excerpt of Brontë's use of contemporary West Riding dialect from Haworth in Wuthering Heights, with a translation to standard English below:

'Aw wonder how yah can faishion to stand thear i' idleness un war, when all on 'ems goan out! Bud yah're a nowt, and it's no use talking—yah'll niver mend o'yer ill ways, but goa raight to t' divil, like yer mother afore ye!'

'I wonder how you can dare to stand there in idleness and worse, when all of them have gone out! But you're a nobody, and it's no use talking—you'll never mend your evil ways, but go straight to the Devil, like your mother before you!'

I miss adverbs. Everyone's eating healthy, they've all forgotten to eat healthily.

Yes. Best example of this:

How are you?
I'm good, thanks, how are you?

We've lost something here. Not too long ago that exchange would have been:
How are you?
I'm well, thanks, how are you?

If the respondent said 'I am good' they would be asserting that they were a moral person, well behaved, not a wrongdoer.

It's not new, it used to be known as 'telegraphese' in the days when telegrams were the fastest method of long distance communication.

This reminds me that about 25 years ago when email was new to most of us and smartphones were still to be launched I had a job that involved arranging meetings. One of the people due to attend was a retired Naval officer. On one occasion he emailed me as follows: ^Regret unable attend meeting regards [surname]'. It was clear he regarded email as a modern replacement for the telegram.

I liked some of their earlier stuff but they were a bit too miserable for me. 😁

"How old Cary Grant?"
"Old Cary Grant fine, how you?"

I really hate this trend!

Also:

'Free chair needs gone'

Now that really sets my teeth on edge!

Out of the window, not out the window.

my real pet hate these days is everyone having “a coffee “ . I have no idea if it’s grammatical correct or incorrect but it sounds wrong

We never used it up north. Don't know if this usage is spreading south.

Social media is informal anyway - it's not like writing a formal essay.

I'm northern and we certainly did and still do.