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Language | Lifestyle
FOBO, JOMO, SMH — Oh My!
Grandma’s Guide to Gen Z Speak
I’m getting old. Let me clarify — I’ve become part of the Old School generation of speaking in clear sentences with proper punctuation, full words, and no need for cryptic abbreviations.
Izzy, on the other hand, speaks in a language I’m still trying to decode — one made up entirely of acronyms. It started when I invited her to see the Alvin Ailey Dance Company at UCLA. She hesitated before answering, then casually announced, “Lemme check — FOBO.”
“FOBO?” I asked.
“Fear of Better Options,” she explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “What if something better comes up?”
I shook my head, sighing,“ Dai, dici sul serio?”
She blinked at me. “What?”
“Esatto.”
At nine years old, my granddaughter still struggles with Italian, even though I’ve been speaking it to her since birth. She still asks if parenti means parents and calls a hotel room a stanza instead of a camera.
The other day, she told me she used one of the words I taught her in a sentence. I was thrilled — until she proudly repeated it.
