Our generation is no stranger when it comes to the random words and terms of endearment found scattered all across the Internet. Sometimes it can get confusing keeping track of all this relationship lingo. Well, College Avenue is to help when it comes to learning the language of internet love.
Relationship lingo can basically be split up into two main categories: terms of endearment and acronyms.
Terms of endearment are usually very sweet and can show a great deal of affection towards someone. Examples of these words would be boo, bb, doll, etc.
“If I want a girl to know I really like her I’ll call her babe or doll,” said freshman Harry Weckel, a mathematics major. “That way she knows I’m really into her and looking for something a bit more serious.”
Unfortunately, there are a few people out there who take a slightly less endearing route. A few examples of these terms would be shawty, main squeeze and boo-thang. (Notice that by just adding the ending “thang” to the end of “boo” the entire context of the word can shift.)
The second popular category of relationship lingo on the Internet is acronyms. It is believed that this whole phenomena started with texting when us humans got too lazy to type out the words of common phrases and decided to use a shorter way to say them. However, the acronym craze is no longer used for only common phrases. You can now see it on just about any social media site and in almost every text. A few of the most popular acronyms are “FBO” (Facebook official), “LDR” (long distance relationship) and “DTR” (define the relationship). All of these acronyms are often used when it comes to defining the modern-day relationship, which has come to be a very difficult task in this day and age.
“Bae” is a unique relationship lingo word used by many who use social media and texting. What makes this word so different is the fact that it is a term of endearment and an acronym. The letters in the word stand for “before anyone else.” This term used to be used half-heartedly by most people, as somewhat of a joke towards their significant other. But, recently, it has become so popular and heavily used that most people are using it in a serious matter.
“I use ‘bae’ a lot,” said freshman Anna Banwart, an ecosystem science and sustainability major. ”I use it seriously, like I would babe.”
It goes to show that when using a term excessively it tends to become second nature to say.
Whether you’re trying to express your love for someone or simply expressing the state of your relationship, there’s always relationship lingo to use. If you want to fit in with the modern kids of social media, make sure to think twice before you type. Don’t let yourself look like a lingo-loser and get with the tech-times.
This article was produced for College Avenue’s Love, Sex, and Relationships issue.