{"id":4015,"date":"2013-07-24T16:25:00","date_gmt":"2013-07-24T16:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qustodio.com\/blog\/2013\/07\/internet-speak-do-you-know-the-lingo-to-keep-your-kids-safe\/"},"modified":"2021-09-21T12:12:31","modified_gmt":"2021-09-21T12:12:31","slug":"internet-speak-do-you-know-the-lingo-to-keep-your-kids-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qustodio.com\/en\/blog\/internet-speak-do-you-know-the-lingo-to-keep-your-kids-safe\/","title":{"rendered":"Internet speak: do you know the lingo to keep your kids safe?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you barely able to understand your tween or teen\u2019s slang IRL (in real life), much less online? You\u2019re not alone! A recent study<\/a> revealed that many parents are painfully unaware of what their kids are talking about online, and monitoring kids\u2019 Internet activity may be only part of the solution.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

###\u00a0Should Parents Be Concerned About Online Lingo?<\/p>\n

Teens have been making up their own language for decades, though, so should parents really be concerned? Actually, yes. Although the strange abbreviations and acronyms may sound innocent enough, not all of them are harmless. Consider, for instance, the acronym \u201cLMIRL.\u201d Parents who can\u2019t decode its meaning may think nothing of it when it appears in their kids\u2019 chat history. Unfortunately, ignoring it would be a big mistake. Why? LMIRL stands for \u201clet\u2019s meet in real life,\u201d and is a signal that your tween or teen may have plans to meet up with a stranger she met online. Other acronyms that should send up red flags include:<\/p>\n

– GNOC – Get Naked On Cam
\n– TDTM – Talk Dirty to Me
\n– ASL – Age, Sex, Location
\n– NIFOC – Naked In Front of Computer<\/p>\n

### Why Teens Use Internet Speak<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, learning a long list of acronyms and their meanings won\u2019t help you understand your kids\u2019 Internet communication\u2014at least not completely. Why? Because as soon as kids know that you\u2019re on to them, they\u2019ll come up with replacements to keep you in the dark. Online lingo has two purposes\u2014convenience and deception. While some acronyms are created for the sole purpose of saving keystrokes, others are created to allow teens to secretly communicate with each other without parents being in on the conversation. For example, the acronym \u201cPOS\u201d (Parents Over Shoulder) is commonly used to let friends know that now isn\u2019t the best time to talk about certain subjects.<\/p>\n

### What Can Parents Do?<\/p>\n

Becoming proficient in another language may not be the answer to decoding your child\u2019s Internet speak, but that doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re at a complete loss. Monitoring your child\u2019s Internet use, especially his or social media and chat activity, can give you a lot of insight that you wouldn\u2019t have otherwise. If you see strange acronyms or abbreviations, do a simple Google search to locate their meanings. Above all, make sure that you\u2019re talking to your kid regularly about digital citizenship and safe Internet use.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are you barely able to understand your tween or teen\u2019s slang IRL (in real life), much less online? You\u2019re not alone! A recent study revealed that many parents are painfully unaware of what their kids are talking about online, and monitoring kids\u2019 Internet activity may be only part of the solution. ###\u00a0Should Parents Be Concerned […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-parenting-tips"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nInternet speak: do you know the lingo to keep your kids safe? | Qustodio<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.qustodio.com\/en\/blog\/internet-speak-do-you-know-the-lingo-to-keep-your-kids-safe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Internet speak: do you know the lingo to keep your kids safe?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Are you barely able to understand your tween or teen\u2019s slang IRL (in real life), much less online? 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