Social Media slang is constantly growing and adapting, so it can often be confusing to understand what people are trying to say if you’re not up to date with the latest lingo. We’ve created this handy jargon buster to help you navigate your way through social platforms and ensure you’re always in the loop.
Disclaimer
This handy guide is designed to help you decipher the social media slang used in your feed, not to encourage you to use it yourself. Some companies have a certain brand personality and tone that can suit using these acronyms and phrases. However, for the most part companies should try to avoid overusing them. This is especially true if you are not confident in knowing when each specific term should be used. You do not want to appear to be trying too hard to incorporate these into your company’s own social media presence. The most important thing is for you to maintain your own brand voice.
Acronyms / Initialisms
| AFAIK | As Far As I Know. If someone is replying to a question but is not certain of their answer, they would use this to ensure others don’t take their word as gospel. |
| AMA | Ask Me Anything. This acts as an invitation for questions and is often used by celebrities or experts to encourage followers to partake in a Q & A session. |
| DAE | Does Anyone Else…? |
| DYK | Did You Know…? |
| FOMO | Fear Of Missing Out. Many people experience this feeling on a regular basis. Knowing that something we would enjoy is happening, but we can’t be present for it makes many of us feel left out and this acronym is used to express this. |
| FR | For Real. This is used to add emphasis to a statement or to prove that someone is being serious. |
| FTFY | Fixed That For You. This one is nice and simple, it acts as a way of letting others, or a particular person, know that you changed the original piece. It can be used sincerely or jokingly. |
| FTW | For The Win. Used to express a love for/ positive opinion of the topic of their message. |
| FYI | For Your Information. |
| HIFW | How I Feel When. This phrase will lead on to the user referencing a certain situation and is used alongside a photo or gif showing how that situation makes them feel. |
| HTH | Here To Help / Happy To Help. |
| ICYMI | In Case You Missed It. Typically used when sharing content that’s not too current. |
| IMO or IMHO | In My Opinion/ Humble Opinion. This is often to clarify that the content being shared is opinion rather than fact. |
| IRL | In Real Life. This is often used to highlight the contrast between the way people act online vs. in person. |
| LMK | Let Me Know. |
| MFW | My Face When. This is used similarly to HIFW above. It is often used to react to trending topics. |
| NBD | No Big Deal. This lets the reader know that the user is playing it cool or is not particularly bothered. |
| NSFW | Not Safe For Work. This is used to highlight content that would be inappropriate to view in the workplace. |
| NVM | Never Mind. |
| OP | Original Poster. Most often used on Reddit, this refers to the user who originally started a discussion on a particular topic. |
| SMH | Shaking My Head. Used to express shock or disappointment at the content they are sharing. |
| TFW | That Feeling When. Used for sharing a relatable experience. |
| TIL | Today I Learned. Used to share something noteworthy the user recently discovered. |
| TL;DR | Too Long; Didn’t Read. This is used to summarise a long post in case people don’t want to have to read the whole thing. |
| WFH | Work From Home. |
Words/Phrases
Alongside the use of the above acronyms there are also many other words and phrases that are common on the internet. Some of these can even be represented solely as an emoji! We’ve grouped these in another table so you can easily translate some more social media slang.
| Basic | This is mostly used as an insult and means unoriginal or boring. |
| Bio | This refers to the section on a user or company’s social media profile that briefly explains who they are, what they do and how to contact them. |
| Cap | This means to lie or embellish the truth. If a user adds the phrase “no cap” to a statement they are making sure that readers know they are telling the truth. |
Facepalm |
Used to convey embarrassment, either by the poster themselves or regarding the content they are posting. |
Fire |
Used to show appreciation of a person or the content they posted. |
| Hate to see it | Used when sharing something disappointing or cringe inducing, to emphasise they are not pleased about it. The opposite of this is the phrase “love to see it” which conveys how much someone supports and enjoys the content they are sharing. |
| I can’t even | Used to express disbelief, someone posting this simply cannot convey how they feel about the topic of their post. This is usually because it’s ridiculous, amazing, or both. |
| Spill the tea | In this instance “tea” refers to gossip and to spill it is to share it with other people. |
Why not save this blog on your browser so that you can refer back to it whenever needed? If you didn’t find the phrase you were looking for, let us know so we can update it! We also have a separate jargon buster for understanding words and phrases surrounding web design and development, check that out here.