TTYL, omg, lol, slay, lit: You may not understand most of it, and there may seem to be more acronyms that you can keep up with — but, experts say that generation after generation, the slang terms used by young people seem to cover the same preoccupations even though they seem to change with each era.
Grant Barrett, a linguist and lexicographer, said it's important for parents to be understanding and kind when they ask what these terms mean because they're usually used during developmental times for youth — times when identities are forming.
Barrett hosts the public radio show "A Way with Words," and he says slang terms tend to cover topics surrounding labels for relationships, or styles in fashion, or other coded stereotypical traits.
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In today's teen slang, the term "rizz" covers an aspect of a person's charisma, and the term "cringe" focuses on the aspect of being embarrassed or ashamed of something.
The term "periodt" is a bold way of using verbal punctuation to end a discussion.
Slang terms can cover how we react to our romantic partners or friends, and can signal to our peer groups that we belong there.
Titania Jordan, a chief parent officer at Bark Technologies, said acronyms can also be used to hide meaning from adults for fear of judgment or to just take back some amount of their privacy.
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"If a child knows that their parent is going to be looking at their phone every day when they get home from school, they're going to use acronyms or even emoji to try and circumvent their parents learning what they're actually talking about," Jordan said.
Barrett says it's important for parents to bond with their children, but in terms of slang, "it's theirs, and you're barging into their slang room without their permission ... and you're not going to get it right." So, he advises, proceed with caution. "And if you do get it right, they're going to move on to something else ... because this is a time when teens are developing identity ... it's an inclusiveness that you're not a part of, and you have to accept that."
"For once in their lives, they know something you don't," Barrett tells parents.
Jordan, who wrote a book called "Parenting in a Tech World," advises parents to "have an open honest dialogue with your children," and to let them know you know what they do, without retribution for it.
