What it means to be a teen in 2015
Written by an actual teen in the Bay Area (@tzhongg)
- It means texting like this:
where u?
how r u doing?
r u alive or? (where you at? are you still alive?)
did u die or? (same with above)
outfit on fleek (on fleek = on point)
that’s lit (lit = dope, awesome)
u r bae. this burger is bae. (1. awesome 2. babe/baby or someone you like or deeply appreciate 3. “before anyone else”)
you’re so basic (unoriginal, boring, “stereotypical white girl” e.g. Starbucks, North Face, yoga, pressed juice)
when u (you start out sentences like this to describe your own situation — “when u stuck at a party w no friends)
i’m dying (when something is so funny you’re basically dying of laughter)
tru (true)
dat (that)
dis (this)
doe (though)
tho (though)
da (the)
classic (typical)
turnt (drunk)
turn up (noun = party. verb = have fun, go crazy)
gon (gonna)
gud (good)
S/O (shoutout)
homie (good friend)
thirsty (desperate, overeager)
frands (friends)
squad / crew (close group of friends)
ded (dead)
den (then)
dead (when something is overwhelming)
yassss (fun way to say yes or to show your excitement)
bish (b**** but meant in a friendly way)
lowkey (keeping it on the low, secretly)
bb (baby)
rn (right now)
tn (tonight)
or nah (or not)
o m g (exaggerated way of saying omg; just space out any word you’re typing to exaggerate it)
af (as f***)
ngl (not gonna lie)
tbh (to be honest)
lmk (let me know)
hmu (hit me up)
atm (at the moment)
tbt (throwback thursday)
Some self-explanatory abbreviations:
b (be)
c (see)
j (just)
n (and)
o or O (oh; reply this when you don’t know what to reply)
p (pretty e.g. “that’s p cool,” don’t say “u r p”)
r (are)
u (you)
v (very)
w (with)
y (why)
- It means replying to iMessages and Snapchats within an hour.
- It means taking 10 photos of every meal you have and uploading the best one out of the 10 to Instagram and/or Facebook.
- It means taking a ton of selfies on Snapchat when you are with friends or bored at home.
- It means having a “finsta” (fake Instagram) aka 2 Instagram accounts — 1 public account for pretty photos + 1 private account for random, personal photos where you only allow close friends to follow it.
- It means running out of iPhone battery before school is over and having to charge it at school and/or bringing a portable charger everywhere.
- It means binge watching on Netflix with friends rather than going to parties.
- It means applying metallic flash tattoos (temporary, don’t worry) to yourself if you’re a girl:
Note: Some of these trends may just be applicable to my area, my age, or my friends. This article was written just for fun, with no actual statistics backing it. Huge thank you to Elana Shen, Priyanka Takle, and anyone else who helped me with this piece!
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