If people know you as someone who doesn’t swear, when you do swear they will take note of what you’re saying.

I try to avoid it because it dilutes your actual point. They’re filler words, that are sometimes used for actual emphasis, but mostly just said out of habit and really don’t mean anything at all.

Besides, if you rarely swear, it makes it even more powerful when you actually fucking mean it.

I enjoy the exercise of trying to think ahead of the words coming out of my mouth so I can speak more concisely and clearly. It’s the same reason I do calligraphy.

Two reasons:

1. I live in Utah, where the Mormons are, and they get very offended by swearing. Although there are some ways in which I will definitely not accommodate their religious beliefs, I also think it’s healthy to meet other people at their comfort level (if it’s reasonable to do so). On the one hand, I understand the idea that we shouldn’t have to change who we are in order to make other people comfortable. On the other hand, I do think that if you take that idea too far, it can be a kind of antisocial behavior. When in Rome, as they say.
2. It has more impact if you don’t do it often. Think about a Quentin Tarantino movie. By the time Samuel L. Jackson has said “fuck” for the 157th time, you’re just used to it. The word doesn’t even stand out anymore. But now consider the end of The Princess Bride, which has one swear word in the entire movie: “I want my father back you son of a bitch.” WHA-BAM! Hits like a freight train every time!

For the follow-up questions, kind of the same answer to both of them. I feel like not swearing – or, swearing less – requires me to be more precise when I’m criticizing something. Instead of just saying that something was “like shit”, I have to give a more specific criticism. So that’s the change that it has made, and no, it hasn’t stopped me from expressing something.

Just never started.

I had children. In my opinion, I had no choice. I was swearing so much that I thought it made me sound dumb but I couldn’t stop until I felt I had to. There are moments where I really miss it but only in intense frustration. Overall, I’m able to articulate better and think I’m better received.

I save my profanity for times and things that are truly worth getting upset about. If you use it all the time, then it becomes meaningless. It just becomes background noise and you sound like a 10 year old all the time.

I was told people who swear sounded less intelligent. It made me not want to do it. I swear rarely, usually if I’m quoting someone. I swear a little more liberally in text, but not very often.

I hear what I say and it feels unpleasant.
Also, I don’t like adding senseless* words in my speech.

* Unless it’s funny or sth.

I don’t (or at least try not to) swear around my ma. She doesn’t like hearing them and that’s enough reason for me. Of course every once in awhile I may drop one purposefully, for the little kick of annoying my ma. I share some of her sentiment though. In general I think swearing can be a bit vulgar/unpleasant, so I don’t necessarily try to swear at every opportunity, but I do when I’m not around her.

I swear but try to limit it as much as I can. That way when I do it has more impact.

I decided to try to stop swearing in college, to see if it would improve my attitude - and to see if anyone would notice.

Both turned out to be true. People found me pleasant to work with and hang around. I recommend it, personally!

I use them when warranted, which isn’t very often. I don’t think the avoidance of using swears is a religious thing, it’s a language/cultural thing. For some reason they’re just deemed “bad words”. They exist in almost all languages and cultures as far as I know.

A good friend of mine swears a lot unless kids are around. I don’t mind it, but he’s sort of “that guy” because of it. If he was someone I just met, I’d think he’s just a bit lowbrow and that’s about it. I wouldn’t think poorly of anyone because of it as long as their attitude is good.

I choose to swear because sometimes words aren’t enough otherwise. When faced with the horrors of this world, sometimes a good “fucking” paired with whatever garbage is just appropriate. As in, “this fucking society.”

I suggest moderation and good taste in these matters