"DTF does not mean Down To Frolic" and 10 other things you need to know about Internet jargon..

By TAHLIA PRITCHARD

Okay we get it. Technology is taking over the world. And with new technology and the ever growing trend of social media platforms comes new slang and jargon. So much so that it’s becoming part of our everyday language. It’s not uncommon for me to yell ‘YOLO’ (especially after a glass or four of wine), which I originally began using sarcastically and somehow let it slide into my everyday language.

While back in the days of MSN we became used to the LOL and the ‘wot r u up 2’ ‘s, the technological and social media jargon keeps on developing, and if you’ve fallen behind I don’t entirely blame you. Here’s a guide to break down some of the newer ones that those crazy youth seem to be using in this modern era:

1. YOLO aka You Only Live Once: This is most commonly thrown onto excited proclamations, or in my case completely unnecessarily just when I want something to say. Think ‘I have to work tomorrow, but I will still finish that bottle of wine, YEAH YOLO!’ YOLO is probably often used as an excuse to have fun and think of responsibilities later. Or maybe that’s just me…

2. SWAG: I’m going to take a Scientific Wild Arse Guess here and say SWAG is something to do with teenage males wearing their jeans around their butt and their hats backwards, while throwing out the phrase YOLO, but I could be wrong. I’m not entirely sure what SWAG is meant to be represent, I’m obviously not cool enough to use it, but I have been known to hashtag #yoloswag4lyf on my instagram photos, so at least I’m trying.

3. DTF: This was brought to my attention when I was at Groovin The Moo festival, and one dude (or is that d00d?) has this written across his hat (worn backwards, that kid has SWAG.) Let’s just say it doesn’t mean ‘Down To Frolic…’

4. WTF: ‘Why the face?’ Phil Dunphy happily exclaims in Modern Family. I think we all know what this one means, and I think we’ve all used this to excess already. I don’t even abbreviate this one usually; I just let it fly in all its full glory (YOLO!)

5. FTB: I learnt this one when I lived on campus, where many males felt the need to reassure everyone that it was all ‘FOR THE BOYS!’ This was also teamed with ‘DTB’ or ‘Dogging the Boys.’ While ‘Dogging The Boys’ was most commonly used for when one male may become ‘whipped’ (not literally…I think) by a female, DTB can also stand for ‘Ditch the Bitch.’ So basically in the case of the latter we can say males want their friends to DTB FTB.

6. Da Boiz: Again, something I learnt while living on campus. You can probably already guess this is about a group of boys, who refer to themselves as ‘Da Boiz’, and like to take selfies in the mirror, potentially when they’re at the gym pumping some iron or downing a protein shake, etc (‘da boiz at da gym’ make sure you check in on Facey-B.) Da Boiz also enjoy going out to pick up ‘da burdz,’ with all their SWAG.

7. Ermahgerd: A while ago my Facebook feed blew up with this term. It was thrown onto many status updates, and honestly, I felt embarrassment for everyone involved in using it. Apparently it’s a way to pronounce ‘Oh My God’ as though you have a speech impediment. Apart from being downright annoying to look at, it wasn’t uncommon to then hear people use it in every day life. The only thing slightly funny about this trend was the meme involved.

8. FOMO: I was running out of new terms so I asked my fellow intern Freya and she told me this. ‘Fomo?’ I stared at her blankly. ‘You know…Fear Of Missing Out!’ she exclaimed back. Okaaaay. I guess I missed that memo.

9. O RLY: This is the sarcastic form of ‘Oh, really?’ This shouldn’t be used if you are simply querying ‘oh, really?’ IT MUST ONLY BE USED WHEN BEING SARCASTIC OR IRONIC. Srsly.

10. NVM: Think if Nirvana released an album in 2013 it could be titled ‘NVM.’ For the days when the word ‘never mind’ is just way too hard to write.

11. Ex oh ex oh: The totez super cute way to write ‘xoxo,’ which is a fitting way to end this article.

Ex oh ex oh, #yoloswag4lyf.

Tahlia Pritchard is a last session journalism student at UOW, music reviewer, avid blogger and intern at Mamamia/iVillage. You can follow her on twitter here and for other ramblings click here. 

What new words/jargon can you just not get your head around?