Twenty somethings love abbreviating words. We are busy people and often have little time to get our point across – both in talk and text. Not only does abbreviating make us sound “young” and “hip,” but many abbreviations are fun to say.
HOWEVER, there are many abbreviations that just do not work. Some are fine to type but not to say out loud… and others are just NOT OKAY to type OR text.
– LOL: I hate the phrase, “LOL.” Whether you pronounce it “L-O-L” or “Lol,” it is just not okay. First of all, “lol” sounds like an abbreviation for lollipop. And second, “L-O-L” are letters. It is not okay to say letters as a word unless they are “F-B,” “R-S-V-P,” or “B-S.” No one even says “A-S-A-P. They say “asap.” Ever since high school or middle school or whenever the IMing B.S. began for us now twenty somethings, “lol” was the hot thing to type. Usually our conversations consisted of “hey” “what’s up?” “nmu?” “nm” “cool” – We actually sat at our computers for hours instead of doing homework, watching TV, or working out and had pointless conversations with people that lasted a good 6 IMs (“I-M” is another letter abbreve, but it is so 2006. No one IMs anymore… We FB chat). Why did we waste our time doing that?
Anyway, “lol” became this “word” people used to respond to anything, even if they weren’t laughing out loud (because that is actually what the phrase means). People started using “lol” as a way to make their emails and texts seem friendly – If you aren’t saying “haha,” “lol,” adding a sketchy smiley face, or using exclamation points – you’re OBVIOUSLY really mad at whoever you are writing to. My point: No one who uses “lol” is actually laughing out loud. If someone is laughing out loud from something you type, they will respond with “hahahahahaha.” I am definitely a fan of the multiple “haha’s” rather than the “lol.” And I rarely ever laugh at loud… I just smile. So why isn’t it “SAMC” – Smiling At My Computer?
Now for the verbal usage of “lol:” First of all, if you are actually laughing out loud you will show that by LAUGHING. Not by saying “L-O-L.” If you actually say “lol,” you are not laughing – you are talking. Luckily, many people know this as Larry David got this point across in a recent episode of Curb. If you use “lol” verbally or in writing, I probably won’t respond to you. People who use LOL: people who did not go to college, people who are in middle school, people who don’t know the difference between “your” and “you’re,” people who pretend they are a different race, people who have not gotten over high school yet, etc.
– Your and You’re… Their and There and They’re… ETC: As I said before, many of the people who use “LOL” do not know the difference between these words – and are, therefore, not too keen on grammar. It is very easy to distinguish YOUR from YOU’RE. The little ‘ symbol and the addition of RE means that it is really “you are.” The same goes for “they’re” … THEY ARE. How do you not know this? I know many of you who do not know this didn’t go to college or aren’t the brightest people on the planet. However, they taught this in elementary school. It’s basic. SO basic. Anyway, when you’re typing please try to think. Eventually you won’t have to and it will just come naturally. But there’s nothing like having to turn down a guy you thought you could see yourself with because he doesn’t know his grammar… or how to spell (my worst situation with this was receiving a Valentine’s Day card that said “thier” – I’m not going to say how old we were, but know it was more than old enough to know how to spell THEIR). Don’t be that person!!!
– Spelling things wrong on purpose. This is only acceptable if you are making fun of people who do this, such as writing “LoLzzz Luv Ya Betch,” on a friends facebook wall or picture. People will know you are making fun of THOSE people or your 7th grade self, because it will CLEARLY be a joke. If you write like that and are not joking, that is a problem. You can spell out the word “you” – unless you are driving, busy, and/or have minimal use of your hands while sending a quick text, it is okay to say “u”… BUT if you are posting a status on facebook to the public world or writing an email, just spell out the word. It’s really not saving you any time. There is also the writing “yur” instead of your, “thinken” instead of “thinking,” and everything else like that. Those aren’t cool abbreves. They are unnecessary and immature ways of spelling – unless, of course, you are attempting to be funny.
