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CMV: 'Swear' words have evolved to become emphasis in casual conversation

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Many adults in today's society detest any use of 'swear words' like fuck, shit and cunt. In fact, in my experience, some recoil at just the letters being written out in sequence without context. While there may be more specific examples, my view mainly applies to these since they are the most common - at least that I hear - here in Australia. The dictionary definitions of these words are inappropriate in formal language and formal conversation because of what they represent. Fuck, (which has to do with sex or damage), shit, (which has to do with excrement/bodily functions) and cunt, (which has to do with genitalia), are all considered taboo in formal language. However, I hold the opinion that these words have evolved to gain new meaning with context especially in casual conversation, however, I also believe that it is still unnecessary in formal situations. 

 In this way, the only difference between telling somebody to 'go away' and to 'fuck off' is merely the tone. Especially in text messaging, where tone is hard to pick up, using the emphasis can help convey the tone and seriousness very quickly. An example of how grammar has evolved with text messaging is the use of all capital letters to convey a 'shouting' tone, or 'l33t' speak (replacing letters with numbers). Furthermore, telling or messaging someone to 'fuck off' in the dictionary sense, makes little to no sense and so the only logical way to interpret or communicate this message is as a more aggressive phrasing of 'go away'. While this may be seen as aggressive, it is hard to view the phrase as an insult or an attack. It is therefore evident that the clear taboo in modern day society surrounding that particular phrase is nonsensical; but I am happy to reconsider.

Another evolution of these words are attacks on individuals or groups in the form of slurs. An example would be the phrase 'fuck you'. However, this too is arguably just an emphasised version of 'I hate you', or similar. In real life especially, it is very easy to pick up tone. If someone says they hate you in a playful tone, it is very easy to pick up. If they say it in a serious tone, that too is very easy to pick up. In massaging, however, even the capitalised version of 'I HATE YOU' does not convey as much emphasis as 'FUCK YOU'. As these have evolved through online massages, they have become a part of many peoples daily lives. We have seen this before - people have said 'lol', 'omg', 'wtf' and many others out loud because of their simplicity to communicate meaning. While these would still be unacceptable in formal language; they are still generally accepted in regular conversation. I believe the same should apply - even to insults - with 'swear words' because of the new meaning taken on.

When voicing these opinions in the past, I often hear comments about how bad it is for children. Children are innocent, and don't know what 'fuck' means, so exposing them to that language, only to stop them from using them (or not telling them the dictionary meanings), is a bad thing to do. I'll include my response so that I don't have to respond to each of these similar comments individually. First of all, children are exposed to far more that words. They have access to the unfiltered internet whether we like it or not. They have a dictionary. They can google the definitions, they can google what sex is - they can even look up porn. I believe that making these words completely taboo is counter productive because it only leads to the worst conversation imaginable. The child might ask why they can't use those words, the parent/guardian tells them 'because I said so', or 'because they aren't old enough', or 'because they are bad words'.  The first option only makes the child use those words when they aren't around their parents, the second makes them want to use it even more with their friends to show how grown up they are, and the last just pushes the problem back a step. By accepting the evolution, a new response could be added: 'it is extremely hurtful to people'.

TL;DR:

'Swear words' like 'fuck', 'shit' and 'cunt', have evolved to gain new meaning (especially through text form) as harsh emphasis with an example of 'go away', which could be interpreted as playful in real life with certain tones, to 'fuck off', which is unambiguously telling another person to leave immediately. I don't think this applies to formal conversation because like we wouldn't say or write, 'lol', 'omg' or other modern day phrases in formal conversation, we also would not need that extreme emphasis.
gpt
The fact that some people are uncomfortable with using sex and excrement-based words in any context, like those you argue against in the post, shows that there is still a significant taboo around these words in some circles. Also, swears such as racial epithets and slurs in general are not only taboo, but have become much more forbidden in recent years. So, swears or taboo words are still very much a part of language, they've just evolved with time.