Lost in Translation: When Abbreviations Leave Seniors Searching for Meaning

TYFRT (Thank You For Reading This)

My 80-ish-year-old friend Marv recently received a text from his granddaughter that ended with four little letters: “TY, LU.” Marv, puzzled, stared at his phone for a while, wondering if he had missed something obvious. He recognized “LU” as “Love You” from previous texts with her, but “TY?” So, Marv Googled it. Of course all of you cool folks like me (JK – Just Kidding!) know that “TY” means “Thank You.” Marv thought it probably took him longer to figure out what “TY” meant than it would have for his granddaughter to have written out the whole thing.

Marv’s experience is far from unique. For many seniors, today’s shorthand-heavy digital communication can feel like a foreign language. Abbreviations, acronyms, and internet slang have become a kind of modern Morse code, efficient for those who use it daily, baffling for those who don’t.

So I went back through my text threads and picked out abbreviations I’ve received in messages over just the past few weeks:

• LOL – Laughing Out Loud (not “Lots of Love,” as some first assumed).

• BRB – Be Right Back.*

• OMG – Oh My Goodness

• IDK – I Don’t Know.

• IMO/IMHO – In My Opinion / In My Humble Opinion.

• TBH – To Be Honest.*

• ICYMI – In Case You Missed It.*

• LMK – Let Me Know.

• SMH – Shaking My Head (used for disbelief or disapproval).*

• FWIW – For What It’s Worth.

• DM – Direct Message (usually on social media).

• LUM – Love You More (in response to LU)

So I told Marv the next time he gets an abbreviation he doesn’t understand, he should text back:“IDKWTM (I don’t know what that means), so TYFE (Thank you for explaining!”) to which he replied “LOL.”

*Disclaimer – I have put an asterisk on the abbreviations in the above list of those I’ve received for which I had to look up the meaning. Just trying to keep up (JTTKU).