Have you ever taken a glance at your teenagers’ phone and wonder ‘What the heck are they talking about?’ Don’t worry, you’re not the only one.

Every teen clique has their own slang that they use to communicate with one another. Just when you think you’ve cracked the code on this generation’s lingo, a new trend surfaces, and another phrase has taken on a whole new meaning. So why do they do it? Sure, it’s convenient to use short forms when texting friends, and who doesn’t love to LOL at a funny meme. But don’t be fooled, teens also use this to intentionally keep parents in the dark about what their conversations are actually about.

Being bilingual in the language of teenager is hard to learn. Teens express themselves through new phrases, acronyms, emojis, GIFs, memes and more! But this ever-changing language makes it hard to keep up with, especially for parents. What was once known as ‘Cool’ or ‘Sick’ today is known as ‘Lit’ or ‘Gucci’ and who knows what it will be tomorrow.

Did you know on average, teens spend up to 9 hours a day watching and using their digital devices? According to statistics, most children have their first cell phone by the ages of 11-12, making them prone to physical and mental health issues. With the uncertainty of COVID-19 and the ongoing restrictions, there is a good chance these frightening numbers will increase. Here’s our cheat sheet to help parents get up to speed with any slang they may come across:

Red Flag Slang

  • Thirsty – Being desperate for something
  • Down in the DM – Direct messaging people on social media for purposes of hooking up
  • Smash – To have casual sex
  • Netflix ‘n Chill – Meeting under the pretense of watching Netflix with the intentions of sexual activity
  • NIFOC – Naked in front of computer
  • CU46 – See you for sex
  • POS – Parents over shoulder
  • GNOC – Get naked on camera
  • 420 – Marijuana
  • OC – Open crib (no parents are home)
  • Turnt Up – Getting drunk or high to the highest degree
  • Spilling the Tea – Telling everything
  • LMIRL – Let’s meet in real life
  • Boujee – Rich or acting rich
  • CD9 – Code 9 (Can’t talk, parents are here)
  • Cap – Lying
  • Simp – A guy who will do anything for an attractive girl
  • Sus – Suspicious (Could possibly relate to school drama or friends)
  • AF – As f*** (Used to mean extremely)
  • Thot – That wh***

Resources

Netsweeper – Netsweeper is a leading provider of application and internet content classification and filtering solutions for organizations and people all over the world. The platform provides web security tools that optimize online usage while providing all users with a positive, productive, and safe online experience.

But what makes Netsweeper so unique? We have 47 languages that we can cover in native tongues, whether that be in context slang, and we can understand these web pages and make category decisions on the fly, based on the content that’s on the web page. Our Categorization Name Service (CNS) also provides an accurate, current, and comprehensive solution for the classification of over 155 million URLs globally, providing protection against illicit content across 90+ categories.

Communicate – Respecting your teens privacy and conversations are important, and their online safety even more so! Have open communication with your teen and establish house rules that will encourage healthy online usage. This will give your teen the chance to confide in you about questionable content they may come across and give you the opportunity to ask questions.

Download Teen Text Slang – Are you looking for a dictionary that can decrypt your teens texting? With the Teen Text Slang app, you are able to learn what an acronym means without having to Google it every time. Stay current with the latest abbreviations and always know what’s being said so you can keep your child safe.

Set Google Alerts – Change is quick, but here’s how you can be quicker! With Google Alerts, you are able to receive emails related to news results that match your search term of interest. This is a great way to stay up to date with any new trends and interests’ teens may have. Some examples of alerts you can set up are social media, dating apps, confession sites, etc.

Submitted by: Natasha Pande