UrbanDictionary.com is officially my new best friend. Working with tweens and teenagers all day, I
have come to know it well (and officially added it to the “Favorites" tab on my internet
browser).
There is a big trend right now
among young people with “code words”. Teenagers have developed their own language
and form of communication, so “us adults” can’t figure out what they’re talking
about (mainly because it’s probably not appropriate, ESPECIALLY in a school
setting).
However, when a student calls
someone a “thot” (aka hoe) or continues to repeats the word “milk” (the tastiest
s#@t ever) in their conversation and there's no milk in sight or you know this
kid has a dairy allergy (lol!), it starts getting suspicious.
With all types of the social media and texting, it seems there is
an acronym for everything (lol - laugh out loud - ttyl - talk to you later, :-)
- smiling). It's hard enough to decipher each of
those everyday, but now kids are using other words in place of something
inappropriate as a way to talk about it in front of others (specifically
adults). And teachers and parents are on
to them.
If I ever find myself
suspicious about a word that just didn’t fit right in a conversation I
overheard among a bunch of teenagers, I type it into Urban Dictionary. And lo and behold, each time, it comes up
with a “different meaning” to that word or phrase, and usually highly
inappropriate. References to sex, drugs,
alcohol, and bullying are the main themes. Schools are in high alert for these
terms now and try to get the “word”
out to staff and parents ASAP. It may be beneficial for parents to keep an ear
out as well.
So beware of these code words and words used totally out of
context! I’ll save you the
disturbances by not going through all of these words with you and leave it up
to you and the urban dictionary!
