Story highlights
Acronyms are widely used across the Internet,
especially on social media and texting apps
Some acronyms can be a shorthand for sex,
drugs and alcohol
Experts say parents should be aware of
acronyms and talk to their children about them
Expert: "Asking kids not only gives you great
information, but it shows that you're paying
attention"
Editor's Note: Kelly Wallace is CNN's digital
correspondent and editor-at-large covering family,
career and life. She is a mom of two girls. Read
her other columns on digital life and follow her
reports at CNN Parents and on Twitter.
(CNN)— If you think you are tech savvy all
because you know what "LOL" means, let me test
your coolness.
Any idea what "IWSN" stands for in Internet
slang?
It's a declarative statement: I want sex now.
If it makes you feel any better, I had no clue, and
neither did a number of women I asked about it.
Acronyms are widely popular across the Internet,
especially on social media and texting apps,
because, in some cases, they offer a shorthand for
communication that is meant to be instant.
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READ: Chances are, your teen has sexted
So "LMK" -- let me know -- and "WYCM" -- will
you call me? -- are innocent enough.
But the issue, especially for parents, is
understanding the slang that could signal some
dangerous teen behavior, such as "GNOC,'" which
means "get naked on camera."
And it certainly helps for a parent to know that
"PIR" means parent in room, which could mean
the teen wants to have a conversation about
things that his or her mom and dad might not
approve of.
Katie Greer is a national Internet safety expert
who has provided Internet and technology safety
training to schools, law enforcement agencies and
community organizations throughout the country
for more than seven years.
She says research shows that a majority of teens
believe that their parents are starting to keep
tabs on their online and social media lives.
"With that, acronyms can be used by kids to hide
certain parts of their conversations from attentive
parents," Greer said. "Acronyms used for this
purpose could potentially raise some red flags for
parents."
READ: 10 signs you might be addicted to your
smartphone
But parents would drive themselves crazy, she
said, if they tried to decode every text, email and
post they see their teen sending or receiving.
"I've seen some before and it's like 'The Da Vinci
Code,' where only the kids hold the true meanings
(and most of the time they're fairly innocuous),"
she said.
Still, if parents come across any acronyms they
believe could be problematic, they should talk
with their kids about them, said Greer.
But how, on earth, is a parent to keep up with all
these acronyms, especially since new ones are
being introduced every day?
"It's a lot to keep track of," Greer said. Parents
can always do a Google search if they stumble
upon an phrase they aren't familiar with, but the
other option is asking their children, since these
phrases can have different meanings for different
people.
"Asking kids not only gives you great information,
but it shows that you're paying attention and
sparks the conversation around their online
behaviors, which is imperative."
READ: Teen 'like' and FOMO anxiety
Micky Morrison, a mom of two in Islamorada,
Florida, says she finds Internet acronyms
"baffling, annoying and hilarious at the same
time."
She's none too pleased that acronyms like "LOL"
and "OMG" are being adopted into conversation,
and already told her 12-year-old son -- whom
she jokingly calls "deprived," since he does not
have a phone yet -- that acronym talk is not
allowed in her presence.
But the issue really came to a head when her son
and his adolescent friends got together and were
all "ignoring one another with noses in their
phones," said Morrison, founder of BabyWeightTV.
"I announced my invention of a new acronym:
'PYFPD.' Put your freaking phone down."
LOL!
But back to the serious issue at hand, below are
28 Internet acronyms, which I learned from Greer
and other parents I talked with, as well as from
sites such as NoSlang.com and NetLingo.com ,
and from Cool Mom Tech's 99 acronyms and
phrases that every parent should know.
After you read this list, you'll likely start looking
at your teen's texts in a whole new way.
1. IWSN - I want sex now
2. GNOC - Get naked on camera
3. NIFOC - Naked in front of computer
4. PIR - Parent in room
5 CU46 - See you for sex
6. 53X - Sex
7. 9 - Parent watching
8. 99 - Parent gone
9. 1174' - Party meeting place
10. THOT - That hoe over there
11. CID - Acid (the drug)
12. Broken - Hungover from alcohol
13. 420 - Marijuana
14. POS - Parent over shoulder
15. SUGARPIC - Suggestive or erotic photo
16. KOTL - Kiss on the lips
17. (L)MIRL - Let's meet in real life
18. PRON - Porn
19. TDTM - Talk dirty to me
20. 8 - MouthAction
21. CD9 - Parents around/Code 9
22. IPN - I'm posting naked
23. LH6 - Let's have sex
24. WTTP - Want to trade pictures?
25. DOC - Drug of choice
26. TWD - Texting while driving
27. GYPO - Get your pants off
28. KPC - Keeping parents clueless

Source, edition.cnn.com/2014/12/08/living/internet-acronyms-every-parent-should-know/index.html