So many people have made it “common and cool” to use those types of words that if you do not use them you get over looked or ignored. People also feel for some reason it gives them power or that they earn respect if they are able to use them toward others. I always tried to tell my kids that the people that use those type of use were not intelligent enough to find any other words to convey their message and that using them made them sound less intelligent….well needless to say with all the music and even books that have the words in them it is hard to keep two teenagers from using them.

I think that their purpose is attention getting.

Expletives are used to either provide shock value or express frustration and anger. Shock makes others notice the speaker. The speaker is saying in effect, “I have no interests, offerings, or abilities that would cause you to notice me, so I will shock you into noticing me.” Venting frustration and anger through the use of expletives suggests that the speaker has little self-control.. Ultimately, those who cannot control themselves, or possess few attributes to merit attention, use expletives as a matter of course. Every other word will be an F-bomb or something akin to it. The expletive then has lost any purpose and has become just one more interjection of helplessness and non-thought. A pity indeed. The use of expletives does not indicate toughness but rather the opposite. If you can’t be tough, then sound tough.

Expletives are not needed. We can live without them. But, they have become part of everyday life whether you hear or use them yourself. People everywhere use them, though not all people. They serve a number of functions. There is nothing wrong with them. But, they can be used inappropriately and that can cause a problem.Personally, I find using an expletetive enables me to express my anger in a way that does me good and harms no-one. I don’t take my anger out on others, and I am not tough.

There are modern social norms where they seem to have become an accepted part of our modern world.

Usually, they’re used because the word used fits the situation, e.g., audience, or because the user does not have the vocabulary that provides them with an alternative.

I work in a prison…and in there inmates respond better to expletives sometimes. It’s not where I start but I do have to go there some days.

not tough, just stern … i believe such words emphasis anger and stress .and is a relief being able to scream obscenities … also, if small little children are swearing just to swear, that.s just being pretentious and quite dumb actually .

No but most guys who f’ing use expletives are pretty f’ing cool