It is no secret these days that text messaging has its own language. Short codes like “LOL”, “BRB” or “:)” are utilized to tell friends that you are laughing out loud, will be right back or are smiling. You can get out of the loop real quick by not knowing the lingo, so I am going to hook you up right now. I will give you some examples of how to use some of these short codes and where to find more so you can stay ahead of the curve.

So lets say you and a co-worker are talking at work and you realize that your supervisor is listening in on a conversation that was not intended for his or her ears, shoot a text over that says “BIL” and your co-worker will know that the “Boss Is Listening” so they should keep it clean or move to text only! Your co-worker might even respond with a text that reads “CWYL” to let you know that they will “Chat With You Later”. You could even send one back after that that says “GBTW LOL” that translates to “Get Back To Work Laugh Out Loud” and it would be completely appropriate.

Fast forward, you have clocked out of work and you want to get all your friends together and hang out. Send a mass text to your friends that reads “MATMP7” and your friends will translate it to “Meet At My Place at 7”. You might get texts back that read “CMIT”, “SGSYT” or “WSIB” and because you are so hip and in the know you will know that one friend said “Can’t Make It Tonight”, another said “Sounds Good, See You Tonight” and your last friend asked “What Should I Bring?”. After the third peson text you back you realize that you forgot some information on the last text you sent out so you send another that says “BTW its BYOB”. Everyone will know you meant “By The Way its Bring Your Own Beer” but the last “B” could be translated as “drinks” also.

So your friends get that text and a couple texts return to your phone and say “Sweet SYL”, “DIKY” and “RO!”. Those are code for “Sweet See You Later”, “Do I Know You?”, which probably means you input a wrong number, and the last one if from your wild friend saying “Right On!”

I want to add that using “LOL” is a good thing but only in moderation. You can “Laugh Out Loud” your way into confrontation quickly. If your friend writes you a lengthy text and your only response is “LOL” they might get mad and assume that you are blowing them off. If you respond “LOL” to several in a row they might even feel like you do not care, even if you did actually laugh out loud every time. My point is that sometimes you need to switch it up or even send a full sentence, if you have the time, to make sure your friends know that you are reading the texts they are sending you.

Needless to say, using short codes for your phone is a lot of fun. You can use a variety of short codes so send a lot of information in just a couple letters. There is also no rule that says you cannot come up with some short codes of your own. You and your friends can make up with your own codes that only you guys know and communicate under the radar.

Here is a link where you can access some other short codes that might be helpful or at least make you laugh a bit. http://www.netlingo.com/acronyms.php