"Bad Words"

Using "bad English" can be pretty controversial. When I say bad English I mean swearing. From my observations, as people change their setting they change the way they speak and the words they choose. The real question is, when is it okay to use a curse word? Is it okay at all? Is swearing even that bad?

My permanent setting has now changed drastically and it seems as though people's choice of language does as well. Walking down the street I hear some of the worst in the book. I live in a dorm building full of teenagers, excuse me "young adults", and let's just say volume does not matter. Even classrooms the students really let loose. Now, I'm going to be honest, I swear just as much as anyone. I remember on the school bus in 6th grade a boy said the "F-word" and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Now I hear it (and use it unfortunately) a lot.

I understand that when with certain company I should cut some vocabulary out of my speech. Lately, my problem is getting used to switching back and forth. I'm used to home and classroom, no swearing. When I'm with friends it's a different story. Now that about 95% of my time is around a bunch of swearing young adults, it seems to be harder to get used to switching back and forth.

The big question is, when is it okay to use these words? Recently, from people's reactions to my way of speaking, it seems that most get a little awkward about hearing "bad words." Are people who use swear words seen as trashy? Is it "unladylike" to swear? Is there such a thing as too much swearing? I can't answer this. It's a personal decision whether or not to swear. In my opinion, people should not be judged on their choice of vocabulary. Listen between the curse words.