Teaching Grandma How to Be a Texting Abbreviations Ninja!

The inspiration for this ‘lesson’ (or should I say, series of lessons) comes from my Mom. She has recently decided to join the 21st century and get a cell phone.

Seeing that she is 20 years behind the rest of us, I have had the distinct pleasure of receiving endless ‘humorous’ email forwards from her with such scintillating subject lines as:

Fwd: Funniest Catholic jokes ever LOL

FW: For Every Person You Forward this to, a Penny is Sent to a Starving Child in Africa

FW: If someone flashes their headlights, DO NOT flash back!

Wait – What Does LOL Mean?

To be honest, I don’t even think she has a clue what the texting abbreviation LOL even means.  Incidentally, until 6 months ago Howie thought it meant “lots of luck” – so don’t worry Mom you are not alone! As for the other two email subject lines – I’m hoping she doesn’t believe they are true, but I’m not exactly holding my breath either. Sometimes it’s better not to know these things!

I just haven’t had the heart to tell her that forwarding email jokes “is so 1997!”

I also haven’t had the heart to tell her that when texting you don’t have to be grammatically correct or perfectly formatted – in fact, it is highly discouraged. As for proper salutations such as ‘Dear Rick’ and proper endings such as ‘Lots of love, Mom xoxo’, while they are appreciated, they are totally out of place in text conversations.

It’s not Mom’s fault, she just doesn’t know any better.

Which brings us to the subject of today’s post – communication gaps between generations.

This is nothing new as there have always been communication gaps between generations. However, with the rate that technology is advancing, that gap is widening faster than ever.

So, What Can We Do About It?

Rather than sit here and bitch about it, why don’t we try and bridge that gap by trying to improve the process instead?

“How can we do that?” you might ask.

By creating a short 4-part blog post series that introduces Baby Boomers (and some Gen Xers) to the ins and outs of cell phone communications.

But, seeing as I don’t want to overwhelm all of you newbie texters out there; we will take it slow.

Once a week for the next 4 weeks, we will have an actionable lesson to help you communicate using those banes of your existence – your cell phones.

The goal will be to reduce the communication gap you may have with the younger generations in your lives.

The Prime Your Pump Guide to Cell Phone Communications for Boomers!

The ‘curriculum’ is as follows:

• Lesson 1:  Texting 101
• Lesson 2:  Emojis
• Lesson 3:  Selfies
• Lesson 4:  Sexting

Just to be clear, this is not going to be an exhaustive, all-encompassing course.

Instead, we are going to employ the 80-20 rule here to try and educate you on the 20% of the stuff you need to know that will hopefully solve 80% of your problems. We will also provide links to other resources that you can visit should you require more assistance.

But before we get to that, let’s not let our overconfidence get the best of us. So, let’s quickly review how to turn on that dadgum cellphone, because it’s not as easy as it looks!  Ok, ok, I’m just teasing, we’ll assume that you can at least turn your phone on and send a text.

Guess What Time It Is?

That’s right!  It’s time for Lesson #1: Texting 101

Today’s lesson will be an overview of texting etiquette and consist of two brief sections: the first will be some general “do’s and don’ts” for you to be aware of and the second will be some of the most commonly used texting abbreviations that you can use.

Let’s start with the “do’s and don’ts” when it comes to texting:

Now for an example of a text gone wrong due to autocorrect.  Before you click, I must warn you – it is extremely raunchy.  Do not click if you are easily offended!  Here it is if you want to see it.

WTF Does WTF Mean?

When it comes to texting, you are going to notice that people use a lot of acronyms or texting abbreviations. No one in their right mind spells out words when texting if they can help it, so everyone uses texting abbreviations or emojis. Emojis are the subject of Lesson 2 next week.

Common Texting Abbreviations

Here is an infographic we created with 10 of the more common texting abbreviations, what they mean, and when to use them.

We Got Your Back!

I know this may have been a lot to handle but PYP has got you covered. So, here is a link to a full list of the texting abbreviations above, plus many more!

There is only one way to get better at anything, and that is to practice. So, grab your cell phone and start annoying the crap out of, I mean texting, the younger people in your life!

Make sure you get some rest before next week because I will need your full attention when we move on to Lesson #2 – Emojis.

Use It or Lose It:

You are never too old to learn something new!  As it relates to texting:

  Follow the do’s and don’ts in the infographic above.
  Learn and use the common texting abbreviations I have taught you – you might just surprise some youngsters in your life!
  If someone sends you a texting abbreviation you don’t know, don’t panic!  Just click the link above, see what it means and respond…
  But not too early in the morning!
  Like anything in life, have fun with it!

When to Use It:

  When someone texts you or when you want to text someone.  The key is to get in the game by practicing!

What Do You Think?

  Was this article helpful?  Do you have someone in your life like my Mom who can brush up on their cell phone communication skills?  Is that person you?

KK, that’s it for today’s lesson!

Until next time, lmk if u have any ?’s and as always, PYMFP 4eva!
–Rick

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