I know what you mean. It took me some effort to accept that, in natural language, an "exponential growth" was not really meant to be exponential. One has to live with it. :)

It sounds like you displeasure with incorrect use of 'exponential growth' may declining exponentially with your exposure to it.

Well, sometimes it's meant that way. If you want your economy to keep growing at 2% per year, that really is exponential growth.