OMG! iyc 't read dis u shd pbly read dis post LOL

I don’t know about you but if your parents are anything like mine, they probably aren’t up to date with trends and Internet slang. This got me thinking why is it that parents struggle to understand Internet slang. 

So, I did some googling but that didn’t help, all that came up was a bunch of lists filled with out of date slang words. So, I decided to conduct my own research. I asked a group of students to interview their parents to find out their thoughts.

I was thinking that parents struggle to understand Internet slang because it’s constantly changing. Parents aren’t on social media as much as their kids so they're not always up to date on what their kids are talking about. I was hoping that this survey would change my mind, but most parents agreed with me. 

The first question I had the students ask was 'Do you think there's a language gap between teens and their parents when it comes to slang?' Everybody I asked said yes to this question which I thought was quite interesting, although I would have liked to hear from parents who thought otherwise.

Next, I got them to explain why or why not? Most parents said it was because they don’t understand the way we talk or text, although one parent gave a rather interesting answer saying, “I think that there are cultural influences on teens that parents aren’t involved in, for example memes.” 

I then asked Do you think this is the case for you and your child? Two parents said 'Yes', two said 'Sometimes' and one (a teacher at our school) said 'not yet' because they have young children, though they suspect that this will be the case when they finally grow up into their teenage years.

Then the real fun began, I gave the students who were willing to participate a list of 8 words commonly used by teens to quiz their parents with. These are the best replies along with how many got it right and what the real answers are. 

1. LOL (laugh out loud) 3/5 got it right  

Best reply: Love you lots

2. BRB (Be right back) 2/5 got it right 

Best reply: Bring rats back

3. TTYL (talk to you later 2/5 got it right 

Best reply: Take me to your leader

4. Salty (upset at someone/something) 1/5 got it right 

Best reply: Chips

5.  “V” (short for very) 2/5 got it right 

Best reply: A type of energy drink

6. Yolo (you only live once) 4/5 got it right 

Best reply: I don’t know

7. Tea (drama/gossip) 2/5 got it right 

Best reply: A drink with jam and bread

8. Yeet (to throw something) 1/5 got it right 

Best reply: Yes