BTW did u know that there is new language flying around you?

AAMOF if you have trouble with this you can ask you children to read it to you. Chances are they can and then they will be OTFL or maybe they will be really polite and just LOL. Sorry, is this TMI at once for u? Then you are def a NOOB (newbie) to the world of texting and instant messaging.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a column about looking at, your childs MySpace page, several of my friends told me later that they looked at the pages and their children’s cell phones and they didn’t understand a single thing on there.

That’s because there is a different language being used on cell phones and computers all over the world and you probably better learn some of it just so you can read what is sent to you.

Really, it’s NBD and fairly easy to catch with a little effort. Remember that most shortcuts are for quickness on the keyboard and to say as much as possible as quickly as possible. And probably because as parents wised up to checking on IMs and texts, kids needed shorthand we couldn’t read.

Some you already know of these shortcuts and, contrary to a younger generations thoughts, were being said before the age of texting. Such as SNAFU, situation normal all fouled up or TMI, for too much information and, of course, probably the oldest one, TGIF, thank goodness it’s Friday.

Don’t be surprised if your computer is in the same room with you and you see POS in your child’s typing. It stands for parent over shoulder and they want to let their friends know that basically they are gagged and muted!

On my old cell phone I used predictive text, so my texting was a little quicker and I could do it with one hand. With my new phone it has a keyboard format so I find myself not only using two thumbs but plenty of shortcuts so I can get done quicker.

For example, LOL, means laughing at loud. Pretty standard reply to a joke or anything else someone sends you that makes you laugh. NBD, no big deal, which I find myself using with my kids and also there is BIF, which is before I forget, not to be confused with BFF, which is best friends forever.

When they tell me thank you for something I am quick to say, no prob and then sign off to with later or luv u.

Since I find myself using the letter u instead of writing out the word you and I rarely using apostrophes I wonder how long it will be b4 we see these types of abbreviations in everyday writing.

As the kids of today grow up I can’t imagine how they are going to change the world and what their mark they leave behind will be.

For now I think it might be a smiley face made with a colon and parenthesis :).

Christina Hall writes a weekly column for The Democrat. She can be reached at christina.hall@natchezdemocrat.com.