Teens have their own speak, using slang and lingo that can sometimes be difficult for adults to interpret. This week we are going to teach you a little bit about one of those languages, teen texting. Recently, I (Julie here) had my own encounter at a friend’s house who has 3 teen daughters. As I was talking with the 17-year-old about her Snapchat communications, she shared that she hates to leave people “unread”. She believes this means she saw their message but didn’t reply with one. I tried to explain what the meaning of “unread” in general terms implies, that she never saw it…but she kept replying that “unread” means she saw it and didn’t send a message back. After we each repeated our points multiple times, she finally shrugged her shoulders and said “I don’t know, that’s just what we call it”.

Teenagers, with the most impressive conviction, speak in a different language even when they don’t really know what they are talking about.

Recently, Darlene discovered a service called Bark that analyzes what teens are actually saying through their various channels: social media, texting, email, etc. There she uncovered some shocking short codes teens are using to say things you need to know about. Whether you’re the parent of a teen or not, you likely have teens in your life; you’re an Aunt, a teacher, a mentor or neighbor. In this episode we unpack what teens are saying and how adults can keep up to date and even practical insight on how to protect the teens in your life in this ever-changing social society. Plus, for fun, Julie quizzes Darlene on common internet slang and that’s sure to make you LOL.

• 53X = sneaky way to type “sex”

Viewing in an app? Full show notes here!

“Sometimes my children think I’m getting on their back, what they don’t understand is that I’m the only one who has their back.” Unknown

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