I grew up in a religious family that didn't swear. Even fart was considered a bad word. I dabbled in swearing as a teen at school, but it was, as you said, to fit in, which is not a good reason to do almost anything.

By the time I married at 20, I had completely stopped swearing. Then I went to work for a blue-collar, union-shop airline, where swearing was an art form. 🤣 But I managed to fit in without swearing. If people didn't like me without swearing, that was their problem, not mine. I found my crew.

Swearing doesn't bother me. Twenty-seven years as an airline employee has desensitized me to it. Although I do find it annoying when every other word is an f-bomb. It has no meaning left. It is just a bad habit.

It is challenging to write without using swearing, at times, but I manage to do so. It is a choice. I may not be able to write gritty realism, but I don't particularly want to. So it works out.