|
Keeping_your_kids_safe_online_ _slang_every_parent_should_know
| Keeping your kids safe online - slang every parent should know
Do you know what your kids are up to online? Of course you do!
You've blocked all the porn sites, set up filters, and even have
a monitoring program to let you know if your kids are talking
about sex, or porn, or meeting up "uncle bob" from the chat
room. You're a smart parent, but you probably have no idea what
your kids are up to online.
There's a new trend popular among teenage chatters, and your
filters won't pick up any of it. It's called l33tspeak, netspeak
or just plain internet slang (leet speak from the word elite).
You know what I'm talking about. Acronyms like lol wtf bbiab and
nm. Today's kids are also lazy, and use single letter words: U
replaces you, R replaces are, o replaces oh, m replaces am etc...
Less popular, but still widely used (especially in games) is
true l33tspeak, which involves using numbers instead of letters.
4 replaces A, 3 replaces E, 7 replaces T 1 replaces L, and $
replaces S. These are just a few examples, some of it is worse
like // and // , or 13 instead of B.
Today's kids are taking their creativity to the internet, and
it's affecting the way they speak. Kid's (just like computer
programmers) don't like to type alot, so they try to shorten
their keystrokes whenever possible. It's not only affecting the
way they speak, it's starting to affect the way they write. So
bad in fact, that school teachers have even reported seeing
"lol" (laughing out loud) turn up on hand-written papers. (How
would you pronounce that?)
Many kids as old as 17 don't know the difference between
homonyms such as there, their, and they're. Hell, there aren't
too many 17 year olds left who can even spell h-o-m-o-n-y-m
anymore, and no it isn't spelled with an i. Remember when your
high school teachers used to complain about a comma splice?
Today's high school teachers are struggling to teach kids how to
spell, and instant messaging isn't helping.
If you're concerned about your kids, it's absolutely crucial you
learn to understand their language. Your filters may pick up
porn, but do they catch the word "pron"? What about warez, which
is short for illegally obtained software.
Another key phrase is the word PAW, short for "parents are
watching". Every parent should be familiar with this term. Can
you think of a non-naughty use for that sentence? I can't.
Sure you blocked porn sites, but what about Google image search?
Any teenager can tell you that online image searches are the
best free porn sites ever. Go ahead, Try It Just type in
anything remotely dirty and see what you get.
So what can you do? Talk to your kids. Get your own copy of AOL
Instant Messenger and put their names on your buddy list. Read
their profiles, you'll be surprised what you find in there.
Need to find out what they're up to? Try typing their screen
name, email address, name, or cell phone number into Google and
see what pops up. I guarantee you'll find your son or daughter's
picture, email address, and tons of should be private
information about them listed on sites like hotornot.com,
buddypic.com, facebattle.com, facethejury.com, or facebook.com
Does your son or daughter have a livejournal or a blog? If so do
you read it? You probably should. There's nothing wrong with
reading their diary if they're posting it on the internet.
Thousands of other people are reading it. How much personal
information are they giving to complete strangers? You'll be
suprised.
The concerned parent can visit Noslang.com to learn more
about internet slang.
About the author:
Ryan Jones is a professional web developer and copywriter who
dabbles in search engine optimization and the internet culture.
He maintains a variety of sites, including his own portfolio at
http://design.thehockeygod.com
|
|
| |
| |
