Americans have used abbreviations, or acronyms, in written communications for generations. Everyone knows what FYI or ASAP means if it’s in a message or text, or even verbal communication.
But abbreviations have taken on a life on their own, and many who are baffled by them, turn to the internet to find out what those shorthand references mean.
Small business back-office service provider Vera measured Google searches to see which abbreviations confuse Americans the most, or at least which ones they have to look up. Using search volume data from online analyst tool Ahrefs, it found more than 100 frequently searched abbreviations.
The top ones are SMH (shaking my head), POV (point of view), NSFW (not safe for work), and FOMO (fear of missing out).
But, while those are the most-searched abbreviations, they are also among the most common and, in the world of text messaging, broadly understood.
New ones have emerged that draw a blank for many when they first encounter them.
“Among those emerging are TLDR, which means ‘Too long, didn’t read,’ and IYKYK, which means ‘If you know, you know,'” said Eve Loffman, a spokesperson for Vera.
TLDR is a clear reflection of Americans’ ever-shrinking attention spans.
Abbreviations mean saying something quickly and without too many words. While not liked by all who wonder why not just take the time to type out the full phrase, the shorthand can be traced to how we communicate has changed.
“As technologies have evolved, we’ve gone from essentially flip phones with very limited characters, to the rise of social media platforms like Twitter, which have word limits. So essentially, you want to convey more in less time,” Loffman said.
Use of text as social media shorthand is generational, but increasingly less so.
“You have older generations that tend to stick to things like FYI or ASAP, but they’re gradually picking up on more modern abbreviations. So this kind of shows how language evolves,” Loffman said.
There is more to using abbreviations than just speed and efficiency. Vera calls it something that represents a sense of community and a shared understanding, where shorthand creates a sense of belonging. IYKYK.
Vera’s list of most Googled abbreviations is based on monthly searches as of Aug. 24. Here are the top 20:
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