Just as you thought you were down with the kids, a new era of text code is being unleashed – and “GR8” (great) and “M8” (mate) will no longer cut it with teenagers, The Times has reported.
Text abbreviations such as BRB (be right back) and ROFL (rolling on floor laughing) were born from necessity due to character limits on text messages. However, as the digital age marches onwards, character limits are a thing of the past – as is the genuine need to shorten words.
John Sutherland, professor emeritus of modern English literature at University College London, told The Times: “Technological evolution has meant that these words are now effectively extinct from the text speak language.”
Today the use for code is more to do with privacy, rather than technical limitations. There have been many reports into what certain text codes mean – some more simple than others. Some of our favourites scooped up from around the web include:
GYPO – Get your pants off
TWD – Texting while driving
KPC – Keeping parents clueless
IPN – I’m posting naked
P911 – Parent Emergency
Yes, we know. WTF?
Although some code seems to have stood the test of time, such as LOL (laugh out loud) and OMG (oh my god), today’s text code has effectively been replaced with a new form of messaging as emojis (the cartoon-like images that are used to illustrate a message) become increasingly popular.
In an interview, one 18 year old told Business Insider: “It’s like you could send someone just emojis when you have nothing else to say. It’s a way to say hi without saying hi.”
When asked why not just say hi, the interviewee replied: “I don’t know … because now you don’t have to.”
She also said she uses emojis to try to make the conversation a little more aesthetically interesting.
Using pictures to communicate, however, is not a new thing. The Egyptians, and even cavemen, used images to convey their emotions.
“This harks back to a caveman-form of communication where a single picture can convey a full range of messages and emotions,” Sutherland told The Times.
A study by University College London and Samsung found that out of a poll of 2,000, two in five parents have already adapted to using emojis to communicate. Over half reported seeing fewer people than before because of the rise of social media and a quarter of parents admitted to taking a sneaky look at their child’s phone.
