Teen Angst

Helping adolescents deal with anger and other emotions effectively.

by Raychelle Cassada Lohmann, MS, LPC

Say What?

Do you know what your teen is saying online?

Published on May 13, 2011 by Raychelle Cassada Lohmann, M.S., L.P.C. in Teen Angst

Ever wonder what kids are saying when they're online, texting, or using some sort of e-communication with their friends? If you feel clueless, join the club. Teens are notorious for creating a coded unique language and electronic slang (aka chat lingo) is no different. Chat lingo is a language that teens use to communicate with via electronic devices. As soon as adults get the hang of it, teens do what they do best, change it!

Due to the nature of electronic communication, teens have started getting much more creative in their short-hand messaging. If you want to understand your teen's lingo, you need to stay on top of these new chat trends. Understanding this type of "Morris Code" may come in handy and help you keep your teen safe.

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You'll find your teen using this type of short-hand in a variety of places like:

Chat rooms
Online forums and bulletin boards
Gaming devices with Wi-Fi connection
Instant messages
Social networking sites
Email messages
Text messages

What are teens really saying??? Take the quiz below and see what you know? Answers are at the bottom of this blog.

What do the following codes stand for?

1. HMU

2. (SMH)

3. LMFR

4. IGHT

5. ATW

6. Zig

7. LOL - ok, that's a gimme:-)

8. J/K

9. AWHFY

10. B4N

So, how did you do? If you did well, then you're ahead of the game. If not, here are some tricks of the trade...

1. Teens use numbers to replace letters. So 53x = Sex or 459 = I love you. The number 3 can represent the letter "E".

2. They write messages by only using the first letter of every word.

3. Forget proper grammar, it doesn't exist. Teens use all caps, non-caps, or just a mixture to get their message across.

4. Letters can be substituted for letters that sound alike. For example, "Z" for "S" or "X" for "C or K" as in "cuz" rather than "because" or "thx" rather than "thanks".

5. Pictograms can be used to show emotions:

:-) = smile

;-) = wink

:-@ = screaming :- O

(*o*) = surprised or :- ()

:~) ... cute

:-))))))) ... lots of smiles

>:-|| ... mad / angry

^5 = high five

;-)~ = drunk

6. Characters can be put together to form letters |-| = H.

7. Vowels are often removed from words.

8. Words are spelled out in acronyms.

9. Text messaging is very phonetic for example rather than spell "you" use "u" or don't spell "be" when you can type "b".

10. Still having trouble decoding your teen's lingo? Teen Chat Decoder or Transl8it will help you instantly figure out your teen's message. Just type the message in the decoding box and submit, instantly your teen's lingo will be put in plain English.

Okay, so you got it... Well, there are some codes that you need to put on your radar screen. According to Netlingo, here are the top 50 codes that parents need to be aware of: