@LostInParadise – It sounds like you are thrown off or distracted when you hear it because you associate it with NPR. I get that. There are particular NPR-isms that I notice too, such as an artificial stutter. Once I became aware of it, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes when upper middle-class moderate Democrats would play tasteful jazz, serve the finest wines, and discuss an article from the current issue of the Utne Reader with that distinct stutter that would only come out when trying to sound like they knew what they were talking about.
However, language is fluid and we are all susceptible to picking up things from who we listen to and the people around us. I don’t see this as a bad thing. I likely say “so” quite often. For example, if I was to go on one of my little explanations above, but try to come back to answer the question, I’d likely start it with “So, have I noticed the use of…”
But I am a horrible speaker and writer (grammatically), so there may be a legitimate reason I should stop using “so”. What is it?