Some weeks ago, we published what some emojis may mean, as a way to help educate parents to the ‘secret language’ of young people online.

This time, we’re breaking down some of the most common acronyms used online, which you may not know the meanings of.

Read on to find out more.

This acronym is often used by content creators, journalists or media organisations on social media or via text. It’s often used before a story that has already been released, but may not have been shared on social media, perhaps due to delays or technical issue.

For example, you may see a recent post like “ICYMI: Joe Bloggs raised £500 for charity”, but you may have read the story a week before.

In text or email, the acronym is often used to point someone to information which had previously been sent, but may have been missed.

For example, someone may ask “what day is the meeting?” and in response, you may see “ICYMI, here is the attachment to all the details of the meeting”.

You may see this a lot on sites such as Reddit, but you may also see it on social media statuses, at the top of digital articles, or even on captions. This is used as a preface to provide a summary of a long story, for people who do not have the time to read everything, or perhaps as a way to remember the “point” of a story.

NSFW often acts as a warning that the content you’re about to access is adult-only. These are sometimes raunchy jokes, but it could refer to pornographic video material. The best course of action is to avoid opening any links that have NSFW as a disclaimer!

Often used to start a sentence via text or email. For example, “BTW, I put your phone on charge when I got home”

Often used in video games or sports to express respect, but it can also be used as a sarcastic taunt, or as a way to express disdain for opponents.

Used as a way to ask someone to message them. Often used on dating sites or for online services.

Usually seen at the end of a message. For example - “If you’re going to the cinema tonight LMK”.

Usually used via email or text. Many smartphones will have TTYL as a predicative text option to save time.

These are common and speak for themselves, but can often be confusing if you’re unfamiliar with their usage. You may see “NVM I found what I was looking for”, or “IDK what to say”.

Here’s a list of common acronyms, but ones which have self-explanatory definitions.

BRB: Be right back

FYI: For your information

IMO/IMHO: In my opinion/In my humble/honest opinion

IRL: In real life

LOL: Laughing out loud

OMG: Oh my God/gosh

TMI: Too much information

TBT: Throwback Thursday

OOTD: Outfit of the day

RT: Retweet

DM: Direct message

AMA: Ask me anything

FOMO: Fear of missing out

SMH: Shaking my head

TBH: To be honest

YOLO: You only live once

WYD: What are you doing?

These are the acronyms used for specific social media sites.

FB: Facebook

IG: Instagram

LI: LinkedIn

YT: YouTube

TT: TikTok

SC: Snapchat

X: (previously known as Twitter)

WA: WhatsApp

PIN: Pinterest

TTV: Twitch TV

This list is in no means exhaustive, but these are by far the most commonly used! We hope this was helpful.