The Guardian view on 'words of the year': lexical snapshots of a moment in time | Editorial

From selfie' to slop', internet culture is changing our language

It started with chav" and has included carbon footprint", omnishambles" and selfie". The Oxford word of the year campaign celebrates 20 years of selecting the word - or sometimes two words - that in some way sums up the moment. This year's winner, decided by public vote, will be announced on Monday.

All six contenders on the shortlist have one thing in common - the internet. The words either refer to anxieties about online phenomena or behaviour (slop", meaning AI-generated content, and brain rot" caused by consuming too much slop" and other material); or they have been repurposed or popularised by social media (old-fashioned words such as demure" and lore", and romantasy" - a blend of romance and fantasy beloved by BookTokkers). Even dynamic pricing" relates to Ticketmaster's skyrocketing costs ofOasis reunion tickets for fans in virtual queues.