@ Is Not “At”

The use of @ for “at” is a new phenomenon that makes me want to poke my eyes out. Well, I guess technically it is not a phenomenon; it is really just one of those annoying things people do. Perhaps it isn’t even all that new, but I’ve only recently noticed @ showing up in the prose I edit.

There are many things I do not understand, and the use of @ in prose is certainly one of them. Is it so hard to type “a-t”? I just typed “a-t,” and it seemed pretty simple to me. Just two little strokes, easy breezy. That’s all it takes to avoid such monstrosities as “He met her @ the station.” Poke! Or how about “He met her @ the station @ 4 o’clock”? Poke! Poke! Poke!

Why the sudden misuse of @? I blame technology. We’re all so used to using @ in email addresses, text messages, and instant messages, we shouldn’t be surprised to find it leaking into prose. And yet, I was surprised—and saddened, and now my eyes hurt.