10 common teen texts decoded for parents
Every generation develops its own expressions that leave parents scratching their heads. With the Millennials (aka Gen Y) texting is quickly becoming the most common form of communication. Limited by space, the soul of this new language is brevity. Instead of “See you later,” or “Are you okay,” texters now require receivers to translate “cu l8tr” and “ruok.”
On average, teens 13 to 17 years old send and receive 1,742 text messages a month, according to TeleMessage, a communications company, which provided these ten common text shortcuts:
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cu |
see you |
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lol |
laughing out loud |
|
|
smile |
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thx |
thanks |
|
ruok |
are you ok? |
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asap |
as soon as possible |
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l8r |
later |
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fyi |
for your information |
|
|
sad |
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brb |
be right back |
There are plenty of websites that decode the acronyms and shorthand. Here are a few shortcuts (useful for parents to know) from NetLingo :
420 = Marijuana
8 = Oral sex
9 = Parent is watching
99 = Parent is no longer watching
A/S/L/P = Age, sex, location, picture?
A3 = Anywhere, anytime, any place
Feel free to share any amusing or disturbing text shortcuts you’ve discovered.
Aisha covered education and breaking news for nearly ten years before joining the Lifestyle staff where she writes a "Dirty Laundry" parenting column. She is the home and family editor and wastes too much time on Facebook and political blogs. 
LYKA = Leave Your Kids Alone
Philip, I hope you’re not saying that parents shouldn’t bother to know this information b/c kids need their privacy! Yes, kids do need a certain amount of privacy, but they also need to be closely monitored when it comes to stuff like texting and using the internet. I work in a middle school, and TRUST ME, kids have NO IDEA of the trouble they can get into with this stuff. We have done a lot of educating of both students and parents and I’m amazed at the lack of knowledge on both ends. There are basic safety precautions that all parents should take and I think being able to decipher what your kids are saying is one of them.
I have a teenage step-daughter that lives with us. What does (><) mean?
LMAO= laughing my (bleep) off. Seems simple, but I had to ask someone what in the world this meant.
samantha, I believe that means “between”.
i love stl, phones and the internet are not dangerous at all.
Phillip: Here are two in response: N (No), and YG(You’re grounded).
samantha: >< is supposed to look like a cartoon of closed (or squinting) eyes–it can mean anything from happiness to frustration according to context.
roflcopter, I agree that phones and the internet are not dangerous. But some of the people who use them are. THAT’S what children need to be protected against.
I had located a slang dictionary a few weeks ago, my comp crashed, still can’t find that one. I believe it was on McGruff website. The are links if you look under ask.com. One is web-friend.com/help/lingo. I know there are people that feel kids should have all the privacy in the world, if you respect them they will respect you… Reality check- there must be a middle ground. Chances are your 14 year old is sending messages he/she may not even know the intended meaning. Or worse, he/she does know, and thinks its “ok”. I commend all the parents out there making an attempt to keep the kids safe, if everyone put a little effort in, it wouldn’t be 1 parent out of 10 saying “no” to outrageous requests…
fml= F*** my life.