Deputy Principal, Senior Years and Wellbeing

How to Speak Millennial

I asked my 14 year old nephew last week if he would like to shoot some basketball hoops with me. He answered Yeah, Nah Yeah Nah. Now did that mean he wanted to shoot some hoops, he didn’t want to shoot some hoops or he wasn’t actually sure? I don’t know about you but there is a language out there I am yet to fully understand.

With texting and social media the main means of communication for many of our teenagers, they have created a whole new way of speaking that involves acronyms and abbreviations. Here are some of the new “millennial” terms that may help you understand your teenager.

Adulting: Behaving like an adult, specifically if the task is boring.

BAE – Stands for ‘Before Anyone Else’. A title given to a significant other or best friend.

BBF – Bestest Best Friend

Ceebs- Can’t be bothered.

Cooked – Very exciting

Cringe – Short for cringe worthy

Dead – A one word response for something that is funny or ridiculous. So funny you died of laughter!

Emoji- Pictures that replace real language such as a “Thumbs Up”

FOMO – Fear of missing out. Often associated with too much social media.

Fam – A term of endearment for your closest friend.

GOAT – Greatest of All Time

IRL – In real life

JOMO – The opposite to FOMO. The Joy of Missing Out. Basically it means sitting home doing nothing.

Lolz- Used to mean Laugh Out Loud but has actually become a word in its own right. Is a signifier of good times.

Owned – When you are defeated.

Phubbing – Ignoring others by staring into your phone.

Salty – To be in a bad mood.

Tea – Juicy gossip

Thirsty – Someone who is trying too hard.

Miss Kristen Waldron