I was scrolling through Facebook a month ago and saw a video of someone singing in her choir concert. I read the comments and one stuck out at me.

“I’m literally peeing!” the commenter said.

I know the sentence“I’m peeing” has two very distinct meanings. “I’m peeing” meaning “I’m laughing very hard” and “I’m peeing” meaning “I’m releasing urine from my body.”

Because of the double meaning, I naturally have some questions about the comment. Is the commenter laughing at the singer, which would be odd and rude? Does the commenter not know what “I’m peeing” means, and thinksit’s some sort of compliment? Is the commenter on the toilet and peeing as the comment is being typed?

But the word “literally” is what brings the most questions and confusion.

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, the word “literal” means, “completely true and accurate: not exaggerated.”

The comment, “I’m literally peeing!” based on the definition of “literal” can now only mean the commenter is telling us that she is peeing. She’s probably using her phone to comment while on the toilet.

What I’ve noticed from my newsfeed is that too many people use “literally” when they mean to use “figuratively.”

We must learn as a society that “literally” does not mean “figuratively.” It causes unnecessary confusion. If you want to say “I’m literally peeing” as in “This is funny,” say “This is funny.”

Otherwise we think you’re peeing and that’s a weird and gross detail to point out.