由於社交媒體的廣泛滲透，語言呈現出與在傳統媒體時代截然不同的活躍以及發展。缺少了傳媒媒體過濾，英語作為一種「活」語言，在Twitter和Facebook等社交網絡上，有了別樣的特點，也讓各家英語辭典出版機構應接不睱，收錄的詞彙的頻率以及數量以幾何級指數增長。
2010年開始，各家辭典出版機構推出的年度詞彙中，具有社交媒體風格的詞彙就屢上榜首。例如，在2015年，《韋氏大詞典》的年度詞彙是X主義，《柯林斯辭典》則推Binge-watch，《牛津英語辭典》甚至將emojiemoji定為當年最火詞。這些年度詞的入圍的一個主要原因是它們都在網絡中，尤其是社交網絡中的使用次數以及頻率暴漲。從《牛津英語辭典》總裁Casper Grathwohl在解釋該機構將post-truth定為2016年的年度詞彙時的理由就可見一斑：
"We first saw the frequency really spike this year in June with buzz over the Brexit vote and again in July when Donald Trump secured the Republican presidential nomination.
「我們最開始注意到這個詞使用頻率暴增是在今年6月英國脫歐公投期間，後來7月份，川普被確定為共和黨總統候選人時使用頻率再次明顯增加。」
"Given that usage of the term hasn't shown any signs of slowing down, I wouldn't be surprised if post-truth becomes one of the defining words of our time."
「鑑於目前這個詞的使用頻率還沒有降低的跡象，post-truth最終成為定義我們這個時代的詞彙之一，我也不會覺得奇怪。」
2月7日，韋氏詞典宣布收錄1000多個新詞至在線詞典，主要是醫藥、運動、文學、時尚、政治以及技術等領域。在韋氏詞典發表的一份通告中，該機構談及其收錄標準，稱
In some cases, terms have been observed for years and are finally being added; in others, the fast rise and broad acceptance of a term has made for a quicker journey.
「在某些情況下，會對一些詞觀察多年，最後才收錄到新詞中；在其他情況下，一個詞，其使用率迅速增長，得到廣泛接受，這個詞就會更快地被收入詞典中。」
特約編輯（editor-at-large）彼得·索科洛夫斯基表示，這些新詞的來源也是多樣化的，而能進入到詞典，自然是要看出現的頻次了：
If a word occurs frequently in the press, or in movies, or in novels, or magazines, then that’s a word that should be in the dictionary. If a word has entered the culture, it should enter the dictionary,
如果一個詞頻繁地出現在圖書、電影、小說或是雜誌上，那麼這個詞就理應納入到詞典之中。如果一個詞在文化裡出現，它理應成為詞典的一部分。
對於新增加的詞彙，韋氏詞典的首席數字官和出版人麗莎·施耐德（Lisa Schneider）認為，它們反映出了英語詞彙的廣度以及詞彙意思變化的速度：
This is a significant addition of words to our dictionary, and it reflects both the breadth of English vocabulary and the speed with which that vocabulary changes,
另外，這些增加的新詞都添加至韋氏詞典的在線詞典庫裡。對於這種方式的優勢，索科洛夫斯基說道：
The online dictionary gives us both more space to expand entries and a way to add them more quickly,
在線詞典既為我們提供了更多的空間來擴展詞條，又為我們提供了一個迅速補充詞條的方法。
在2月的新詞更新中，以下幾個詞比較有特色，也更體現出了英語詞彙的變化趨勢：
train wreck（車禍現場）：an utter disaster or mess
safe space （安全空間）：used by college post-election to describe themselves campuses that will protect students who might feel in danger due to their religious beliefs, sexual orientation, race or gender.
microaggression（微型侵犯）： a comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a marginalized group (such as a racial minority)
first world problem/first-world problem（「世界第一」小麻煩）：a usually minor or trivial problem or annoyance experienced by people in relatively affluent or privileged circumstances especially as contrasted with problems of greater social significance facing people in poor and underdeveloped parts of the world
food insecure（果不食腹）：unable to consistently access or afford adequate food
humblebrag/humble-bragg（謙虛為虛，自誇為實）：to make a seemingly modest, self-critical, or casual statement or reference that is meant to draw attention to one's admirable or impressive qualities or achievements
ghost（鬧鬼/玩失蹤）：v. the act of cutting off contact with someone by ignoring their texts and phone calls.
listicle（列表文章）：an article consisting of a series of items presented as a list
snollygoster（牆頭草，不講原則又誇誇其談的人，尤指政客）：a shrewd, unprincipled person
ride shotgun（坐副駕）：to ride in the front passenger seat of a vehicle
throw shade（藉由間接或輕微侮辱來表達不屑）： to express contempt or disrespect for someone publicly especially by subtle or indirect insults or criticisms
side eye（瞥了一眼）：a sidelong glance or gaze especially when expressing scorn, suspicion, disapproval, or veiled curiosity
weak sauce（不值一提的東西）： something inferior, ineffective, or unimpressive
face-palm （雙手掩面）：to cover one's face with the hand as an expression of embarrassment, dismay, or exasperation
fast fashion（快時尚）：an approach to the design, creation, and marketing of clothing fashions that emphasizes making fashion trends quickly and cheaply available to consumers
wayback （後備廂）：the area in the back of a van, station wagon, or SUV
wayback machine（時空穿越機）： a device for traveling into the past
pareidolia（空想性錯視）：the tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern
最後，來一個小測驗，以這個詞是什麼意思呢？ 將你認為的意思發在評論區吧！
boo-hoo