Shorthand. Acronyms. Abbreviations. They are a “natural” way to keep our brains from exploding. We’ve used them forever. With the advent of mobile and instant messaging, texting shorthand has taken on a whole new dimension.
Sometimes texting shorthand is spoken like a word. Other times, it is individually pronounced letter combinations. You see (or hear) it everywhere.
Try your hand; do any of these look familiar to you?
- FB
- BFF
- BRB
- DIY
- TTYL
- YOLO
No worries. The answers are at the bottom of this post. What about these?
- PIR
- TDTM
- IPN
Decoding this alphabet soup is one of the more challenging tasks of parenting, these days. Look over their shoulder to get a glimpse of this a foreign language you’ll likely see PIR – Parent in Room. What you won’t see (because they don’t want you to see) is TDTM (talk dirty to me) or IPN (I’m Posting Naked).
Frightening, isn’t it? We thought it might be helpful to look at some of the texting shorthand acronyms and abbreviations your teen, my teen, or any teen (and let’s be honest – some adults) could be using in a text message or chat. Not all of their texting shorthand is dangerous – some are practical (QWERTY), sweet (HAK), and LOL-ish. Gamers use shorthand that is relevant to their games, but probably wouldn’t be used in a Tweet.
Here are some of the texting shorthand messages that send up those parenting red flags.
- DOC – Drug of choice
- GYPO – Get your pants off
- LH6 – Let’s have sex
- (L)MIRL – Let’s meet in real life
- PRON – Porn
- SUGARPIC – Suggestive or erotic photo
- WTTP – Want to trade pictures?
Not only is it important to be aware of the shorthand, you need to talk with your kids about the underlying concepts. Its not just NKOTB anymore (and anyone younger than 30 will need to Google that!) its much more serious.
If your kids have a mobile device with text and messaging capability, then today is the day for a chat. Knowing what these abbreviations mean can save you from big issues in the long run. Shorthand evolves, but you can get the 411 on the coded language with these sites.
- 92 Teen Text Terms for Confused Parents
- The NetLingo.com dictionary
- 25 Disturbing Text Shortcuts Every Parent Should Know
- Webopedia
The No Slang dictionary – started by a Dad – is also a good resource for drug and sex terms. There is a Webopedia directory that lists more than 1,400 text message and online chat abbreviations. Last updated in September 2014, it is compiling terms that are used not just via SMS (text) but also in chat rooms and game sites, as well as what you might see on social media like Twitter and Facebook.
Keeping current is only part of the goal … staying connected to your kids. Now that is sick (translation: awesome).
@ Heather Bowcutt
Heather is the is the primary author of the Kids Email blog, where she offers safety and parenting tips, for when the kids are online and off.
Kidsemail.org is an award-winning, safe email service for kids. Use Kidsemail to safeguard your children from language, predators, images, and video, while keeping them connected to loved ones and learning about technology in a safer environment.
We’re delighted to have Heather with us as a Mom’s Choice Matters blogger. Be sure to subscribe to the KidsEmail blog http://blog.kidsemail.org/ where you can get more ideas and safety tips for parenting your digital native!
TEXT SHORTHAND ANSWER KEY
FB = Facebook; BRB = Be Right Back; DIY = Do It Yourself; TTYL = Talk To You Later; NOLO = You Only Live Once; NKOTB = New Kids on the Block
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