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Gen Z’s “ChatGPT Hyphen” Theory Sparks Online Buzz
Generation Z believes they have identified a telltale sign that someone has employed ChatGPT – and the supposed indicator might come as a surprise. The debate centers around the humble em dash, a punctuation mark now dubbed by some as the “ChatGPT hyphen,” igniting discussions online about artificial intelligence writing and stylistic choices.
The Em Dash: A Punctuation Point Under Scrutiny
The em dash, a punctuation mark favored by writers, serves various functions akin to commas, colons, or parentheses. According to grammatical resources, it effectively summarizes information at sentence ends, encloses supplementary details, emphasizes key points, or elaborates on preceding text.
“ChatGPT Hyphen” Claims Gain Traction
However, Gen Z is now suggesting that this elongated dash is a “ChatGPT hyphen,” implying its overuse signals AI-generated content.
Podcast Discussion Fuels Online Conversation
This notion began to circulate widely online after podcasters Daisy Reed and Sapna Rao, co-hosts of the LuxeGen podcast, addressed it in a recent episode.
A clip from their discussion quickly spread on X, with a user sharing it alongside the caption: “The fact that Zoomers are unironically referring to the em-dash as ‘the ChatGPT hyphen’ is wild.”
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Brand Critique Highlights Punctuation Debate
Reed mentioned that clothing retailer PrettyLittleThing faced criticism after announcing a brand refresh on social media. A top comment on their post remarked that “including the ChatGPT hyphen is insane,” suggesting the perceived overuse of em dashes was noticeable and negatively received.
Humorous Advice for Avoiding AI Accusations
The podcast hosts jokingly issued a “public service announcement” advising listeners to “remove the hyphen” if they wish to avoid accusations of using ChatGPT for writing assistance.
Expert Opinions on AI Detection and Style
Rao commented that in academic settings, “if you’re using [ChatGPT] for your essays, take out the hyphens. I can always tell.” She clarified that she isn’t fundamentally opposed to ChatGPT, provided users initially generate their own content. However, she recommends careful revision when using AI for editing, stressing the importance of rephrasing outputs in one’s own writing style. Rao summarized the desired process as: “Person, ChatGPT, person.”
Spacing Variations and ChatGPT Accusations
Reed and Rao’s assertion is based on the idea that standard em dash usage involves spaces on either side, and omitting these spaces supposedly indicates ChatGPT involvement.
Em Dash Spacing: A Matter of Style Guides
However, spacing conventions surrounding em dashes are not uniform and depend on stylistic preferences.
AP Style
The Associated Press (AP) Style, commonly adopted by newspapers and mainstream magazines, dictates inserting a space before and after the em dash.
Other Style Guides
Conversely, numerous books, academic journals, and resources like Merriam-Webster favor omitting spaces, positioning the em dash closely with adjacent words within the text.