Parents Beware…Texting & Social Media Lingo
In today’s world technology has taken over and the users of cell phones and computers continues to get younger and younger. Not only that, but the language is constantly changing too. If you have children with cell phones and social media accounts, TRUST ME…you need to stay in the loop where their language is concerned because it’s not as simple as LOL (laugh out loud) & BFF (best friends forever) anymore. The acronyms and meanings have taken on something totally different and shocking!
As the parent to teens ages 13 & 17, I have found many ways to astound them with my knowledge into their world, and it was in no way an easy feat. I just learned to get as creative as them and do my homework (snoop, investigate, ask questions, read up) on thing of interest to them and just teens in general, including the lingo they are using.
My oh my…the things that I discovered! Especially after reading a CNN article posted written by Kelly Wallace entitled: “28 Internet Acronyms Every Parent Should Know,” I was completely floored by some of the acronyms that I saw despite knowing many of them already. So, I thought; why not share them with other parents and help bring some awareness to this complex and decieving thing known as the TEENAGE LINGO! Take for instance, would you have ever thought that if you see you kid typing “GNOC,” that they were asking the person someone to GET NAKED ON CAMERA? or how about “IWSN,” also known as I WANT SEX NOW? Right…my sentiments exactly. Never in a million years did I as a parent think that I’d see that day where simple methods of communicating turned into a complex game of I-Spy where I felt the need to decode what my child is reading or writing be it on a computer, tablet, or smartphone.
According to the “28 Internet Acronyms Every Parent Should Know,” here are the acronmys to look out for and their meaning:
1. IWSN – I want sex now
2. GNOC – Get naked on camera
3. NIFOC – Naked in front of computer
4. PIR – Parent in room
5 CU46 – See you for sex
6. 53X – Sex
7. 9 – Parent watching
8. 99 – Parent gone
9. 1174′ – Party meeting place
10. THOT – That hoe over there
11. CID – Acid (the drug)
12. Broken – Hungover from alcohol
13. 420 – Marijuana
14. POS – Parent over shoulder
15. SUGARPIC – Suggestive or erotic photo
16. KOTL – Kiss on the lips
17. (L)MIRL – Let’s meet in real life
18. PRON – Porn
19. TDTM – Talk dirty to me
20. 8 – Oral sex
21. CD9 – Parents around/Code 9
22. IPN – I’m posting naked
23. LH6 – Let’s have sex
24. WTTP – Want to trade pictures?
25. DOC – Drug of choice
26. TWD – Texting while driving
27. GYPO – Get your pants off
28. KPC– Keeping parents clueless
With this information I’m sure you get the urge to snatch your teens electronics and start searching every text message, e-mail, IM, tweet, etc that’s been sent or received, and for good reason. However, you’ll drive yourself crazy trying to catch everything, so here are a few other things to look out for and use as a guide to detect when something fishy may be taking place right under you nose.
1. Quickly switching screens, exiting apps, or shutting down device when you appear.
2. Refuse to give you passwords to access social media accounts and phone messages.
3. Deleted history on computer, phone, tablet.
4. Talking in code and getting quite when they see you coming.
5. Using friends devices despite having their own.
I hope these tips are as helpful to you as they have been for our family. As parents we can’t be everywhere our children are and constantly stand watch, but when we have them present we can protect them from the dangers they often encounter, even if it’s protecting them from themselves.
-Dayatra N. Towles
