Recession Creates Nation of Potty Mouths

F-bombs a popular way to react to your 401(k) statement

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 17, 2009 3:30 PM CDT

(Newser) – The state of the economy has made for a lot of bad news, and bad news makes for a lot of cussing, MSNBC reports. “I’ve been dropping the F-bomb every time I look at the Dow,” said one 35-year-old writer. “You see that number and you say a few choice words.” Psychologists say two-thirds of all swearing is related to frustration or anger—and there’s a lot of that going around.

“Swearing results in a form of catharsis," says one psychologist. "People feel better when they swear.” And vulgarity isn’t just spreading verbally. Since early November, Twitter has logged more than 2 million instances of swearing, according to curse-tracker Cursebird. Everyone might not enjoy such moments, but we’ve “evolved to use them” for a reason, the psychologist says. “It’s much better to swear than to physically hit someone.”

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Don't look so shocked, these days "there's almost no cuss-free zone anymore," says Diane Mapes of MSNBC. (Shutterstock)

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Before, I’d cuss at a driver or someone being rude on the highway. Now I’m cussing at my 401(k) statements. Maybe it’s a transition from road rage to market rage. - Michele Mehl, a 35-year-old PR executive

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Recession Creates Nation of Potty Mouths