Keeping kids safe online starts with knowing what they are saying. Learn the meaning of the most common acronyms kids are using when texting or instant messaging.
The following acronyms are often used by IM and text happy teens to make communication faster. It serves another purpose, too, by making it more difficult for parents to understand their conversations. You may recognize the more common “lol” which translates into “laugh out loud,” but who old enough to remember the fall of the Berlin Wall will recognize “gypo” (get your pants off) or “kfu” (kisses for you).
It is important to understand what your children are saying, and who they are talking to. The anonymity of the internet makes the latter task more difficult. Television programs such as “To Catch a Predator” make us feel as though everyone on the opposite end of the computer talking to teenagers are slimy creatures with ill intentions.
Children feel the need to rebel as they grow older, so an exchange full of “PAR” and “PIR” may not be so damaging – especially if they are talking with a friend you know. Be on alert for “A/S/L” which means “Age/Sex/Location.” This implies the person on the other end doesn’t know your child and is casting a wide net. Even if the content of the conversation seems benign, know that predators don’t announce their plans. They mimic teen lingo and are adept at feigning interest in a variety of activities. This enables them to reel them in, moving to the “LMIRL” or “let’s meet in real life.”
Protect your kids by familiarizing yourself with this common online teen lingo:
A/S/L Age/Sex/Location
ADR Address
GYPO Get your pants off
IWSN I want sex now
KFU Kisses for you
KPC Keeping parents clueless
LMAO Laughing my ass off
LMIRF Let’s meet in real life
LOL Laugh out loud
MOOS Member of opposite sex
MOSS Member of same sex
MorF Male or Female?
NALOPKT Not a lot of people know this
NIFOC Nude in front of computer
P911 Parental Crisis/Parent alert
PAL Parents are listening
PAR Parents are watching
PIR Parents in room
POS Parents over shoulder
ROFLMAO Rolling on floor laughing my ass off
SorG Straight or gay?
TD2M Talk dirty to me
WYCM Will you call me?
If you think your child may be using social networking in a way that may be harmful, sit down and discuss it. Remember, anything posted online doesn’t disappear when you remove it, and some people using the web are online predators. Stress to your child the importance of not giving out personal information to anyone he meets online.
June 11th, 2008 at 4:21 am
Great article. Didn’t even know half of them.