Decoding Teen Text Lingo

Yahoo! Editor Tells What Text Message Abbreviations Mean, on "The Early Show"

(CBS) Keeping up with the ever-changing world of technology can prove challenging. That includes parents learning and deciphering a language full of abbreviations and symbols used by teens in text messaging.

But now, there's help. Heather Cabot, Web life editor for Yahoo!, appeared on "The Early Show" Tuesday with some insight into the world of teen texting.

Not sure what those super-short abbreviations mean? Cabot explained they're a unique shorthand for common expressions. She said "LOL," which "Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith thought meant "lot of love," actually means "laugh out loud." However, Cabot told Smith not to feel badly, because lots of people don't know what the expression means -- she said it's the second most-searched messaging term on Yahoo!.

The next abbreviation Cabot brought up was "ROFL," which means "rolling on the floor laughing."

Know what "TTYL" means?

"Talk to you later," Cabot said, is good for anyone to know.

Other abbreviations, Cabot noted, are based on the numbers of letters in the words, such as "143," which means "I love you."

And "BCNU" means "be seeing you."

However, there are some abbreviations meant to keep parents out of the loop.

Ever heard of "KPC"?

It means "keep parents clueless."

But if you don't know the lingo, Cabot says, that's OK: "The thing is this language is evolving so quickly that people are adding new words to the lexicon every day. You shouldn't feel badly if you don't know them."

Still, Cabot pointed out it's important for parents to know about these abbreviations because it's a great way to communicate with their children. She cited a recent AT&T study that found 82 percent of teens prefer to text with their parents to keep them up-to-date.

"It's their favorite form of communication. It's so easy and quick and convenient," Cabot said. "It doesn't feel invasive."

Cabot told CBS News that, if you haven't figured out how to text and Instant Message yet, maybe now is a good time to start. Kids, she said, often have active social lives, and it's how they communicate with friends.

She said, "If you've got kids headed off to college, it's a great way to just drop a quick line to say hello."

Survey: Many Teens Use Phones in Class to Text or Cheat

In the survey, 26% of teens admitted that they use their phones
to store information to look at during a test,
and 25% text-message friends about test answers.

By Greg Toppo, USA TODAY

One-fourth of teens' cellphone text messages are sent during class, a new survey finds, despite widespread classroom bans on cellphones at school. The survey of 1,013 teens — 84% of whom have cellphones — also shows that a significant number have stored information on a cellphone to look at during a test or have texted friends about answers. More than half of all students say people at their school have done the same.

Only about half of teens say either of the practices is a "serious offense," suggesting that students may have developed different personal standards about handwritten information vs. material stored on cellphones, says pollster Joel Benenson. "The message about doing those kinds of things on the cellphone may not be reinforced the same way," he says.

The poll found that teens send 440 text messages a week on average — 110 of them during class. That works out to more than three texts per class period. The findings also reveal a split in perception between teens and parents: Only 23% of parents whose children have cellphones think they are using them at school; 65% of students say they do.

Benenson conducted the online poll in late May and early June for Common Sense Media, a San Francisco-based education company. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

ORIGINALLY POSTED HERE

Iowa Teen Wins Text-Messaging Championship

By Kimberly Chou
Article Source: Wall Street Journal

After the tears (and there were tears), texts and frantic thumb work, Kate Moore, 15 years old, came from behind to win the best-of-three finals round of LG’s U.S. National Texting Championships Tuesday.

Ms. Moore, from Des Moines, Iowa, beat Morgan Dynda, 14 years old, for the $50,000 prize by being first to text an error-free modified chorus from “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah.”

Ms. Dynda was in New York for a second straight year to compete for the texting title, which began as a promotional campaign for LG’s cellphones three years ago.

“I’m just, like, completely stunned right now,” Ms. Moore said. “You’d never think a girl from Iowa would win something this big in New York.” Minutes earlier, she had joked about buying Coach purses and “a pony” if she won.

Over two days in a TV studio made up to look like an arena, the competition whittled 21 finalists down to the two teenagers. Over five rounds, contestants texted phrases on LG-distributed phones — no iPhones or other handsets allowed — while jumping obstacles on a treadmill, enduring heckling and while blindfolded, the latter inspired by a Harris Interactive study in which 42% of teens said they could text with their eyes shut.

The text trials were tense, even without the emcee repeatedly noting the tension. Family members and the finalists eliminated earlier in the day yelled and whooped for their favorites, and the winners from 2007 and 2008 went head-to-head to warm up the crowd, like homecoming queens returning to pass on the crown (and compete for a 50-inch LG plasma TV).

LG representatives said that more than 250,000 people competed this year, with online competitions testing speed and accuracy, “text-ins” during MTV programs, and live qualifying events in cities around the country.

“It’s gone from an event with nice PR legs to a program with real continuity,” said Tres McCullough, co-founder of ad firm Fathom Communications, which worked with LG on the event.

Next up? Global competition. Ehtisham Rabbani, LG’s vice president of product strategy and marketing, said the company is planning for a “mobile world cup” in the fall, with winners from the U.S., Korea, Brazil and other countries participating.

U.S. winner Ms. Moore got teary on the brink of elimination — Ms. Dynda won the first round and finished first in the second round, though a mistake on her part kept Ms. Moore’s hopes alive. At the end of the finals, as the confetti guns exploded and Ms. Moore’s phone vibrated to confirm her win, tears came full force — from her, her mother in the audience and apparently her dad back home (whom Mom called, not texted, with the news).

ORIGINALLY POSTED HERE