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Original · left

Story (narrative)

An account of imaginary or real people and events told for entertainment.

First in use: ancient / pre-modern
Duplicate · right

Story (social media)

A post that disappears after 24 hours, introduced by Snapchat in 2013.

First in use: c. 2013

Story / Story (narrative) / Story (social media)

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Colour keyGrey · original meaningGreen · duplicate meaningAmber · contested (40–60%)How colours work

Bedtime stories vs. 24-hour posts.

Which meaning of Story is the original, and which one is the duplicate riding on its name? Story (narrative) came first (ancient / pre-modern). Story (social media) arrived in 2013. The data below shows which one owns the word now.

Wikipedia pageviews since 2015

Story (narrative)Story (social media)
English Wikipedia pageviews since July 2015 load here.

Duplicate's share of attention

Green line = duplicate's % · above 60 it owns the word · below 40 the original does

Share-of-attention line loads here.

The case for each meaning

Sourced definitions, usage stats and quotes

Original · ancient / pre-modern

Story (narrative)

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Duplicate · c. 2013

Story (social media)

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More duplicated terms

Internet & gaming culture