Chat Acronyms & Slang
An acronym is used to communicate, usually through direct and text messaging.
Some acronyms include:

Some of the more common slang or lingo include:

• Ate/eats –  If you say someone “ate,” it means you are saying that they did something exceptionally well or deserving of praise.

• Aura Points – Refer to a lighthearted way of measuring coolness. 

• Basic – Used as an insult; if someone is “basic” they are very mainstream, or boring

• Bop – Often used in the context of music; if a song is a “bop., that means it is very good

• Canceled – Used when a popular individual (usually a celebrity or influencer) does something controversial and the internet turns on them. 

• Cap – Often used to indicate that someone is lying about something; can be interchanged with the blue baseball cap emoji. Alternatively, “no cap” means “no lie”

• Cringe – If something is “cringe” or “cringy'” it is awkward and gives you second-hand

• Drip – Used when speaking about someone’s outfit; cool, stylish or fashionable clothing

• Fangum Tax – The act of stealing someone’s food without their permission. 

• Goat – Acronym meaning “Greatest of all time”

• Ghost – When someone “ghosts” you, it means they cut off all interaction with you

• “Glow up” – When someone looks considerably better than they did before; often a drastic change in appearance for the positive. Alternatively, “glow down” means the opposite

• High key – When you want to strongly emphasize your opinion on something. Ex. “high key, she’s so rude'” 

• Mid – Something/someone that is neither great nor terrible; often used negatively
• Period – Used to emphasize the point made in conversation

• Pull – An individual’s ability to attract romantic partners. Often used in the context of if an individual is “pulling” which indicates the high ability to attract romantic partners

• Ratio – When someone has a high quantity of replies compared to likes; originated on twitter and has a negative connotation. If you are “ratio-ed” that means the high volume of comments on your post are negative or disagreeing with your post. Which is why your like count is low.

• Rizz – Derived from charisma; indicates a person’s overall charm when trying to flirt

• Slaps – Often used in a positive context; if something “slaps” that means it is very good. Can be used for actions, music, products, media, etc.

• Slay – Often used for platonic admiration/ support

• Sus – Short form for “suspicious”

• Vibes – Indicates how someone feels about a situation/person

• DM – Through direct messaging, users can send and receive messages to anyone on certain social media platforms often regardless of “friend/ follower” status. Messages from followers appear almost instantly in the recipient’s inbox, while messages from non-followers must be approved by the recipient in order to open.

• File-Sharing Program – Any program that allows many different users to share files, such as movie, music, and image files, directly with each other. There may be a risk of illegally downloading materials or downloading a computer virus.

• Geolocation Services – Users may use these services to share their locations with their friends or with other users. Some social media applications utilize maps so that users can continually share their location with friends or family.

• Grooming – This is the process a person uses to manipulate minors into sexual relationships or into producing sexual images of themselves. It often includes secrets and the giving of compliments or gifts.

• Instant Messaging – Through instant messaging (IM), users can quickly exchange messages with other online users, simulating a real-time conversation or “chat.” Messages appear almost instantly on the recipient’s screen.

• Live Stream – An interactive video stream involving one party live streaming a video of themselves and viewers publishing comments. Live streams can take place on a multitude
  of social platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitch.

• Online Enticement – Involves an individual communicating with someone believed to be a child via the internet with the intent to commit a sexual offense or abduction. This is a broad category of online exploitation and includes sextortion, in which a child is being groomed to take sexually explicit images and/or ultimately meet face-to-face with someone for sexual purposes, or to engage in a sexual conversation online or, in some instances, to sell/trade the child’s sexual images. This type of victimization takes place across every platform, social media, messaging apps, gaming platforms, etc.

• Predatory Offender – An individual who uses the Internet to connect with minors to develop a sexual relationship. This may mean getting the minor to meet face-to-face and/or convincing the minor to produce or allow sexual images to be taken of him or herself.

• Self-Generating Child Sexual Abuse Material (SG-CSAM) – Explicit imagery of a child that appears to have been taken by the child in the image. This imagery can result from both consensual and/or coercive experiences. Kids often refer to consensual experiences as “sexting” or “Sharing nudes.

• Sexting – The use of cell phones to send sexual messages, pictures, and videos.

• Sextortion – A form of child sexual exploitation where children are threatened or blackmailed, most often with the possibility of sharing with the public nude or sexual images of them, by a person who demands additional sexual content, sexual activity, or money from the child. This crime may happen when a child has shared an image with someone they thought they knew or trusted, but in many cases, they are targeted by an individual they met online who obtained a sexual image from the child through deceit, coercion, or some other method. In many cases, the blackmailers may have stolen or taken images of another person and they are communicating through a fake account. The blackmailer may have sent images as well.

• Smartphone – Unlike its more basic counterparts, smartphones have operating systems that allow users to run applications similar to those used on computers. For example, users may be able to view, create, and edit documents from a smartphone.

• Social Media – Internet applications that are used to facilitate communication between users. These applications include:
  • email programs such as Gmail
  • live-streaming platforms such as Twitch
  • Picture and video-sharing sites such as BeReal, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube
  • Social networking sites such as Facebook, Threads, and X
  • Virtual Worlds and game networks such as Fortnite, Minecraft, PlayStation Network, PUBG8, Roblox and X-Box
  • Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) & instant messaging social platforms such as Discord

• Social Networking Site – An online community where people from all over the world may meet and share common interests. These sites allow members to set up a profile, which may include information such as name, location, phone number, age, and gender. Often users will post pictures and videos.
• Vlog – Video logs, or vlogs, are an increasingly popular format of communication. Utilizing platforms such as YouTube, “vloggers” document the activities of their daily lives on camera.

• Webcams – Also known as “cams,” are video cameras set up on home computers or laptops that can be accessed online.