Unserious (Slang)

About

Unserious is a buzzword and a mild insult that achieved virality on X / Twitter in 2022. The slang term offers several possible interpretations based on the context and can convey both playful praise ("silly," "buoyant") and condemnation ("not taking things seriously," "idiotic"). The word is often utilized together with the adverb "deeply," usually to emphasize the negative meaning.

Origin

The earliest documented use of the adjective "unserious," meaning the opposite of serious, is the writing of the 1st Earl of Orrery from 1655.^[1]

Prior to 2022, the word has occasionally been used in viral posts on social media. For example, on September 20th, 2020, X^[2] user @_txjp used the word to describe the British government, with the tweet gaining over 5,100 reposts and 34,000 likes in four years (shown below, left). On November 19th, 2021, X^[3] user @CrypticNoHoes described the United States as "an unserious country," with the post (shown below, right) garnering over 2,000 reposts and 30,000 likes in two years.

The word has seen a steady increase in search interest,^[9] reflecting an increase in use online, since early 2022. In the first half of 2022, the earliest tweets recognizing "unserious" as a buzzword were posted online (examples shown below, left and right).

Spread

The buzzword maintained virality on social media, primarily on X, through 2022 and in the following years. On X, the word appeared in multiple viral tweets posted in that period, often emphasized by the adverb "deeply."

For example, on July 2nd, 2022, X^[4] user @hoemie_ made a post that used the word and received over 28,000 reposts and 200,000 likes in two years (shown below).

On February 6th, 2023, X^[5] user @ycsm1n labeled the Grammy Award an unserious organization in a tweet that garnered over 24,000 reposts and 370,000 likes in one day (shown below, left). On June 14th, X^[6] user @Papapishu made a post about Western soup spoons that received over 17,000 reposts and 170,000 likes in seven months (shown below, right).

On TikTok,^[7][8] memes about "that one unserious friend" saw popularity in late 2023 (examples shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References