It is a world where the most intimate feelings and desires can be portrayed with a single emoticon.

And it seems the fleeting nature of social media and texting is having an impact on the English language as the words we most frequently use are getting shorter.

Helen Newstead, the head of language content at Collins, said its 2016 "words of the year" list has been strongly influenced by the younger generation and not only includes current words like “Brexit” but also short phrases from social media and a four-letter acronym; “Jomo”.

"Most of this year’s words are used by or related to the generation born towards the end of the last century"
Helen Newstead

“Jomo” stands for the “joy of missing out” and is used when one decides to pass up on a party invitation without any fear of missing the event. It is thought to be the first time an acronym has been included on the Collins list, which has been issued since 2012 and celebrates terms that have enjoyed a significant rise in usage.

The term joins “throw shade”, a verb which describes when someone publicly shows contempt, and “mic drop”, the act of pretending to drop a microphone after speaking.

The latter, which experts said was being used around 14 times more than last year, has been made particularly popular on Twitter and Facebook with celebrities, politicians and members of the Royal family, including Prince Harry and Barack Obama, miming the gesture in viral videos and GIFs. 

Other popular terms identified by Collins include “dude food”, junk food considered particularly appealing to men, “sharenting”, the habitual use of social media to share images or news about children, and “uberisation”, a business model where services are offered directly to a customer, for example via a mobile phone.