[pdc56]

He makes a convincing point in favor of swearing in this section:

The Motives for Swearing

Swearing is a hammer used to drive many nails. Different types are used by different people for different reasons. People swear:

    In imitation, because those around them swore when they were growing up, and humans learn by mimicry.
    To fit in among peers (or people they admire) who swear.
    To stick out in a culture that proscribes swearing; to sound edgy and contemporary, feel like they’re ‘living dangerously’, and experience the thrill of breaking taboos. (A subset of this: people who like to perform and play the clown often combine swearing with overstatement or ridiculousness for comedic shock value.)
    To blow off steam (especially as a single-word expletive when something goes wrong).
    To pack an emotional punch and vent feelings about a particular person or thing, either directly at the target of the feelings, or to a third party.
    To buy time. Swear words can be used as filler (the way people use “um”, “uh”, and “like”), buying extra time while also sounding edgy.
    By habit, because by now they’ve been swearing for so long it’s become ingrained.