Swearing doesn't bother me but I think that it rarely helps a conversation. Saving choice words for the appropriate time makes them far more powerful than when they are overused.
I often hear younger people swear in a way that suggests to me that they just aren't familiar with the correct word to say. They merely substitute an offensive word in place of the elusive noun, adjective or adverb (verbs are generally difficult to substitute) that would better convey the meaning of their thought. Of course, a good amount language skills are caught rather than taught, suggesting that practitioners of such colorful but unexacting speech habits probably developed more of their oratory skills on the street corner rather than in the classroom.
As for older conversationalists, I'm at a bit of a loss to understand why they choose to swear unnecessarily. I'm guessing that it is more habit than anything else. I doubt that they are trying to impress anybody with their coarse language. It sometimes seems like filler in the middle of a thought; like hmmm or aaahh. Kind of like a place holder, to keep others from butting in before they finish their point. In the end, it probably says a lot about the people they associate with. Like a dairyman who always smells like bovine dung or a fisherman's distinctive scent, the swearer's lexicon probably reveals a lot about his or her peers—and that may be the biggest curse of them all!
