Millennials, Kids And Emojis Via Mobile Phone
A Lesson in Deciphering Your Kids' Emojis and Texts
The digital icons are becoming the way to communicate
My punctuated her text message using three emojis with alien faces. I texted her back, "Are u saying I am strange?" Turns out she'd actually sent smiley faces, but my phone's old operating system had somehow changed those grins to aliens. Alamy Stock Photo Millennials use emojis and acronyms to text parents. Since surfacing in the 1990s, as shorthand for expressing thoughts and feelings, emojis have become part of our texting vocabulary. Many of us stick to basics such as the "crying tears of joy" face, so popular that this emoji was named the . Everyone from the to a crowdsourced version of have embraced emojis. Still, there's often a generation gap in translation. What exactly did your adult daughter mean by the dancing girls or your son by the monkey covering its eyes? Adult Children and Millennials
— Receive access to exclusive information, benefits and discounts Millennials themselves admit to some confusion with meanings. Writer Alice Robb with a friend who was moving. "This exchange might have been heartfelt. It could have been ironic. I'm still not really sure. It's possible that this friend and I are particularly emotionally stunted, but I put at least part of the blame on emoji: They allowed us to communicate without saying anything, saving us from spelling out any actual sentiments." Beyond emojis, acronyms that our kids text can also leave us clueless. We all know that LOL means "laugh out loud," but what about FOMO? The mystery of that acronym was shown on the Showtime TV series The Affair in a scene that featured a couple having drinks at their alma-mater college bar. Helen grabs Noah's smartphone to see who keeps texting him. It's from a young friend who complains of "FOMO." Puzzled, tipsy Helen stands up and yells in the bar, "Hey, millennials, what does FOMO mean?" The young crowd yells in reply, "fear of missing out." That's millennial-speak for the social media-induced feeling that everyone but you is out having a good time. In our ongoing effort to bridge the generation gap, we conducted an informal survey of New York University graduate students and asked them to list their favorite acronyms and emojis to help parents understand what their kids are saying: AARP Member Discounts on Flowers and Gifts
on flowers, gifts and more as an AARP member. * ikr: I know right * smh: shaking my head * brb: be right back * tbc: to be continued * tbh: to be honest * sb: Starbucks * jk: just kidding * tmi: too much information * atm: at the moment * yolo: you only live once * bae: before anyone else (for girlfriend, boyfriend) * k: OK * nsfw: not safe for work, in this case meaning we omitted those with four-letter words The students' most-used emojis included the classics: thumbs-up, crying with laughter, blowing a kiss, monkey covering its eyes, embarrassed face, kissy face, a queen. Two that stymied us were the big-eyed octopus, described as "a symbol of endearing awkwardness," and the purple heart, favored by fashionistas instead of the typical red heart. Perhaps one way to respond to a puzzling text is with one of the newest emojis — the pondering, chin-scratching face. Mary W. Quigley, a journalist and author, has written two books about motherhood and work. An NYU journalism professor, she is the mother of three adult children and blogs at . Cancel You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. Cancel Offer Details Disclosures
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