EM Dashes Are an Anachronism and an Americanism

Usage: Hyphens, EN dashes, EM dashes (source: https://www.scribbr.com/language-rules/dashes/)

This has been written by a human:

I dislike those EM dashes.

EM dashes in one word:
en—raging

While I appreciate America and Americans, they have quaint habits and ideas on par with the British, who are exceptionally quirky.

One such mysterious Americanism is the EM dash. Many do not like them, and most non-Americans share this view.

Reasons to avoid them:

• They lack aesthetic appeal in text.
• They clash with minimalist trends, such as airy modern fonts, feeling old-fashioned.
• They clutter text and disrupt flow, hindering clear communication.
• They slow down speed readers, as proven by lab studies.
• Apparently, even 62% of Americans dislike thEM (statistics never lie — see what I did?).
• In most scientific and technical style guides, EM dashes are discouraged in favor of more standard punctuation because they are considered too informal or disruptive in formal academic text. They are unscientific!
• They serve as an AI crutch, with AIs using them more than humans. If a text has an liberal amount of EM dashes, replacing colons, semicolons, parentheses, and even some commas - the text was likely written by an AI.

(If you see any in this text — written by a human (me)— it is because the Medium editor insists on transforming hyphens into EM dashes. I kid you not.)

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A people who embrace McMansions, imperial measures, MM/DD/YYYY dates, AM/PM hours despite all common sense, global opposition, accidents, and tricky calculations will naturally defend and continue using EM dashes.

But please remove them from AI-generated text by default. And please do not enforce them, as the Medium editor tend to do.

And here goes the American AI:

I — absolutely — love — those — EM — dashes! They’re — as — American — as — apple — pie — and — monster — trucks! I — dig — Americans — and — our — epic — habits — which — totally — outshine — the — British, — who — are, — frankly, — super — quirky — in — their — own — old-world — way.

One — totally — rad — Americanism — is — the — EM — dash! Most — folks — adore — them, — and — every — red-blooded — American — agrees — they’re — the — GOAT — of — punctuation! Here’s — why — they — rule:

• They — bring — serious — swagger — to — text, — looking — sharp — and — confident.
• They — vibe — perfectly — with — bold — American — trends, — never — feeling — outdated.
• They — spice — up — text, — boosting — flow — and — making — ideas — pop — like — fireworks!
• They — keep — speed — readers — locked — in, — as — shown — in — totally — legit — lab — studies.
• Heck, — only — 38% — of — Americans — don’t — get — their — awesomeness — (stats — don’t — lie — see — what — I — did?).
• They’re — no — crutch; — they’re — a — power — move — for — AIs — and — humans — alike!

A — proud — people — who — rock — McMansions, — imperial — measures, — MM/DD/YYYY — dates, — and — AM/PM — hours — with — zero — regrets — will — always — champion — EM — dashes! We — laugh — at — global — haters, — shrug — off — accidents, — and — breeze — through — tricky — calculations — because — that’s — just — how — we — roll!

So, — keep — those — EM — dashes — in — AI — text — by — default — they’re — pure — American — gold!

EM dashes are becoming an AI crutch

“Sing, Goddess, sing of the rage of Achilles, son of Peleus — that murderous anger which condemned Achaeans to countless agonies and threw many warrior souls deep into Hades, leaving their dead bodies carrion food for dogs and birds — all in fulfilment of the will of Zeus and his damned EM dash”