I Mean...What?

I was having a conversation with my son Zach a couple of weeks ago, and it went, in part, something like this:

Me: How was football practice today?
Zach: I mean, it was okay. Nothing special.

A conversation a few days later with my son Tyler.

Me: Did you speak with the counselor today about colleges?
Ty: I mean, I did but she said she'd have to check into a few things.

A conversation with Zach one night at dinner.

Me: Is dinner okay?
Zach: I mean, it's good, it just needs something.
Me: "I mean..." "I mean..." You mean what?
Zach: What, what?
Me: You started answering my question by saying "I mean" when you hadn't said anything that needed to be clarified yet. Why did you say "I mean"?
Zach: I mean, I was just answering your question.
Me: You just did it again. Why do you keep starting your sentences with "I mean"?

He was clueless as to what I was asking him. I went on to explain that "I mean" is generally used to clarify something that has already been stated and possibly misunderstood. For instance, someone asks you a question but your answer doesn't make sense to them so when they ask for clarification you'd start by saying, "I mean..." and then go on to restate your answer differently. He understood then but told me that it's just an expression and that a lot of kids use it.

He's right about a lot of kids using it. I've heard it umpteen times on the school bus when students are talking with one another. I hear it every time I turn around these days. It doesn't make any sense, though, and I don't understand why it's becoming a "thing" as a way of speaking.

I even heard it on a TV show today, and it was two adults who were speaking.

Lady: My brain is fried [from all this research].
Man: I mean, we could take a break and find something else to do for a while.

Seriously? I think the point was perfectly clear without the "I mean". Nothing needed to be restated or clarified so why start the sentence that way? Maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm just getting old and don't understand the language of today's youth. It sounds extremely odd to me for a person to start a sentence that way, as if I didn't understand the original unspoken thought.

I know we all had our own language in our youth but I don't ever recall speaking as if I'd been asked to explain my original answer when I hadn't even answered the question the first time. Clarifying yourself before you need to sounds a little ridiculous, and every time I hear it I roll my eyes so hard I almost give myself a headache. I'm not sure how this trend started but it really want it to stop. I mean, I wish people would stop saying "I mean" at the beginning of a sentence when there is no reason for it. See what I did there? :)

Until next time...peace to all.