Please Stop Overusing This Word

There are plenty of words that are overused these days, but there is only one that grates on my very last nerve. Like. That's right, you know the word, and you know how overused it is, like, don't you?

It goes without saying, though here I am saying it, that the culprits who use the "like" word, are of the younger persuasion. Age 13-22 seems to be quite fond of the word like. They can use that one annoying word up to 30 times in a 1 minute conversation. Yes, I have timed and counted a few people, so that I could laugh at it instead of ripping out my hair (or theirs). However, I've noticed a really disturbing trend of 30 year olds using "like" in every third word of their sentence. It's a really irritating phenomenon and we have to find a way to stop it. I'm thinking of starting a rehab center for people who speak like this; "So, like, I was telling Kim to like, just stop, like calling me. And like, she like, got all mad like, and started yelling like really loud. So like, I like started yelling back like loud at her too and like it was like totally like out of control like."

Now see, I gave myself a headache just writing that word so many times and imaging the conversation. We definitely need an 800 number or something to help the over users. I'm not sure if they know that they are drawing out conversations to unbearable lengths of time. I'm certain these folks don't realize that using the word "like" as filler for taking a breath, is mind numbing to the person who they are speaking with. I have spoken with educated young men and women who feel the overwhelming need to say "like" in every other word of their conversation. It is my opinion that the overuse of this word makes the user seem significantly less intelligent. Am I the only one who feels this way?

What's really annoying is that if I spend too much time with someone that speaks in "like" tongue, it starts to rub off on me. I find myself dropping the word "like" into random places of my sentences. Places the word has no need to be! I literally cringe when I catch myself doing it. "Like" should not take the place of a simple pause and a breath, ever. You know what it is? It's the new "Um" or "Uh". My um, generation, um, had a hard time with pausing silently, so um, we just um, said um, a thousand times. I must have driven my mother nuts with the ums, so I guess this is my payback. I am a patient person generally speaking, but if the "like" era does not pass by soon, I may not ever have another conversation. I can't take the chance. I like, really can't.