Emojis were once an essential part of communication.However, right now, teens are mostly abandoning most of the emojis. Most teens use creative abbreviations like I don’t know (IDK), got to go (GTG), and Oh my God (OMG). However, a new era of abbreviations has come with examples like I love you so much (ILYSM), For the Win (FTW), or Of Course (OFC). These abbreviations are useful because emojis only show feelings, but these abbreviations show both words and feelings.
Lyn Stone is a clinical director for Lifelong Literacy, a company.
“Emojis have been expanded slightly to also replace words, which is handy when you have character limits. But either way, they’re fairly one-dimensional and constrained,” Stone said.
Similarly, Suzie Shaw is a Social Executive Officer of Tiktok. Shaw says ,many abbreviated words show a lot more depth and understanding beyond just simply communicating simple ideas, interests, actions, and feelings.
“For example, while Boomers and Millennials use the thumbs-up emoji as a sign of encouragement or approval, Gen Z often uses it as a sarcastic or passive-aggressive ‘good job’ on something you messed up,” Shaw said. “In contrast to emojis, abbreviations can be more efficient in expressing whole sentences and have very specific and widely understood meaning compared to emojis, which risk being misinterpreted.” An example of this is that a thumbs-up sign only says yes or good, but that is very simple and leaves a lot of questions. However, abbreviated words tell “good job” or “you messed up.”
“Acronyms are becoming more and more obscure, such as “IJBOL” (I just burst out laughing) or ‘NGMI’ (not gonna make it),” Shaw said.
Acronymss are more specific than emojis and can make communication more clear.
However, some abbreviated words cannot be understood by older people, including parents and teachers.
Zach Nowytarger is a 12-year-old teen whose friends have ditched emojis because they are too vague.
“Emojis have gotten older and even though abbreviated words don’t show much emotion in a text, emojis aren’t used so there’s no point keeping them around,” Nowytarger said.“It’s quicker to write abbreviated words rather than having to spend more time writing the full words, even if it’s a couple of letters shorter.”
Lyn Stone is a clinical director for Lifelong Literacy, a company.
“Emojis have been expanded slightly to also replace words, which is handy when you have character limits. But either way, they’re fairly one-dimensional and constrained,” Stone said.
Similarly, Suzie Shaw is a Social Executive Officer of Tiktok. Shaw says ,many abbreviated words show a lot more depth and understanding beyond just simply communicating simple ideas, interests, actions, and feelings.
“For example, while Boomers and Millennials use the thumbs-up emoji as a sign of encouragement or approval, Gen Z often uses it as a sarcastic or passive-aggressive ‘good job’ on something you messed up,” Shaw said. “In contrast to emojis, abbreviations can be more efficient in expressing whole sentences and have very specific and widely understood meaning compared to emojis, which risk being misinterpreted.” An example of this is that a thumbs-up sign only says yes or good, but that is very simple and leaves a lot of questions. However, abbreviated words tell “good job” or “you messed up.”
“Acronyms are becoming more and more obscure, such as “IJBOL” (I just burst out laughing) or ‘NGMI’ (not gonna make it),” Shaw said.
Acronymss are more specific than emojis and can make communication more clear.
However, some abbreviated words cannot be understood by older people, including parents and teachers.
Zach Nowytarger is a 12-year-old teen whose friends have ditched emojis because they are too vague.
“Emojis have gotten older and even though abbreviated words don’t show much emotion in a text, emojis aren’t used so there’s no point keeping them around,” Nowytarger said.“It’s quicker to write abbreviated words rather than having to spend more time writing the full words, even if it’s a couple of letters shorter.”