Literally [lit-er-uh-lee]:
–adverb
1. in the literal or strict sense: What does the word mean literally?
2. in a literal manner; word for word: to translate literally.
3. actually; without exaggeration or inaccuracy: The city was literally destroyed.
4. in effect; in substance; very nearly; virtually.
A few years ago, I noticed that people were using this word with increasing frequency. Then, the frequency began to increase over time to a point now that if the usage were an actual sound wave, humans would not have the ability to hear it. (That's somewhere over 20,000 Hz.) It's said everywhere and seldom is it used properly. I say seldom. To be literal, I've never heard it used properly. What makes this worse is how often I hear "literally" followed directly by "probably". The fact that it already annoys me to no end only makes me more aware of every time it's used. Due to my perturbment, I think I've stumbled upon the genesis of this verbal epidemic.
As I've mentioned earlier, I'm always on the cutting edge of things. And listening to podcasts is one such thing.
"Pod-what?", you ask.
"Podcast. Google it.", I reply.
Look, I don't have time to get into a full description. Anyhow, I've been catching up on a podcast called Keith and the Girl . The show started in 2005 and within their first 50-ish shows, they set forth a chain of events which lead to my eventual, near suicidal aggravation. While incredibly entertaining, Chemda, (pronounced: Hem-duh, with a little throat-clearing sound before the first syllable), "the Girl" can be heard as the catalyst for people saying something is actual and true when they literally mean something closer to hyperbole.
Whether or not you've noticed this before or if it even bothers you, I would bet that you will be more aware of this from now on. Since you'll be on the look-out, I'll give you something else to notice: when you hear people say "literally", listen for the word have an upward inflection with each syllable progression as well as a small pause after saying the word. It almost sounds like "literally" is said as a question and as the punctuation.
So please folks, this is enough. Just stop with the word. You don't use this word properly and in the off chance that you do, your story isn't made more interesting by the usage of "literally".