BMS, ELI5 and All Social Media Acronyms You Should Know by Now, FFS
By now, we all know what NSFW, BTW and TBH stand for. ( Right ?) For social media fans, the list below may seem simple, but for those who don’t live on the Internet (or spend half their lives texting), there are many cryptic acronyms. (Often in lower case, making them difficult to find.) This can be confusing when decrypted.
If you’ve ever scratched your head trying to figure out what an acronym stands for, we have you. Here’s a tutorial or reminder of PPLs across the entire spectrum of social media acronyms. (Note that this list does not include acronyms for business-oriented social media such as UGC, PV, and CTR. We are focusing on colloquial acronyms here.)
AF : What the hell. Everything can be emphasized with a well-placed autofocus. I’m tired A.F. It’s cold outside AF .
AFAIK : As far as I know.
AMA : AMA stands for “Ask me anything.” Created on Reddit as a hostless Q&A session, AMA is now the primary way to let pundits, celebrities, or influencers know they are ready to answer any question.
ASL : ASL stands for American Sign Language in polite terms. When connected to the Internet, this means age / gender / location.
BBL : Brazilian Butt Lift. A cosmetic procedure for the introduction of fat from another part of the body into the ass.
BMS : Literally BMS stands for Broke My Scale. But that has nothing to do with weight. It’s a way of saying something so good (usually pretty) that it goes beyond the charts; they “broke the scale” of the measurement of beauty.
BTS : BTS is sort of a popular South Korean boy band, and by “curious” we mean massively. So sometimes it means just that . However, its significance for social media is behind the scenes – used when someone gives you an insider’s view of their life or work.
DAE : Anyone else …?
DICK : Did you know?
DM / PM: private message or private message.
ELI5 : Explain as if I’m 5. Give me the simplest explanation.
FML : Fuck my life. Midnight and I’m still at work, FML.
FFS : For heaven’s sake. An exhilarating exclamation of annoyance whose usefulness knows no bounds. FFS, have you lost your keys again ?! Stop saying these things to pregnant women, FFS .
FTFY : Fixed for you. Used when someone wants to drastically correct something someone else has written.
FTW : To win. Describes anything you want to cheer about. Spooky season, FTW!
GTG / G2G : It’s time . Essentially the world.
GTR : We have to run.
HIFW : How I feel when … Often combined with a funny meme or gif.
HMB : Hit me back. The answer to my message.
HMU : Hit me. Contact me – often used when making plans.
ICYMI : In case you missed it. Disclaimer when you are sharing something that is not new.
IDC : I don’t care.
IDK : I don’t know.
RBI : I know, huh? Statement. Friend: This guy was creepy. You: Ikr?
OR : I love you. (Not getting any ideas.)
IMO : In my opinion. Or his more obsequious relative: IMHO (in my humble opinion, or in my honest opinion). But we all know that as soon as you add the letter “H”, you are already jumping on the humble shark.
IRL : In real life. Not only on the screen, where we (unfortunately) spend most of our lives.
IYKYK :If you know, you know . Implies insider knowledge of a specific experience that most people don’t actually know about.
LMC : Let me know. (Wow, the Internet really doesn’t like spelling the word ” know” .)
MCM : Man is in love with Monday. Is anyone else doing this? Hmb.
NGL : I won’t lie. Used to anticipate awkward or awkward confessions. NGL, I like vegan cheese .
OFK : Of course. It took me a long time to describe this with the word “of course” instead of “office”. And TBH, I’m not sure yet if I’m completely there.
NM : A little. Not to be confused with …
NVM : It doesn’t matter.
OOTD: The outfit of the day.
RN : Right now. Where are you ph?
SMH : Shaking my head. Used to express anxiety. Add the letter “D” there for more emphasis. SMDH: Shaking my damn head.
STG : I swear to God. If my ex text me again, I …
TBH : To be honest.
TFW : It’s a feeling when … Used to convey relevant experiences.
TIL : Today I found out. TILE pours the cream into the mug before my coffee makes it unnecessary to stir it. ?
TL; DR / TL; DR: too long, haven’t read it. Used to generalize lengthy content (just do not use it in response to the person who wrote the specified content. Because, rude).
WBU : And you?
VD : What are you doing? (Besides being ready to embarrass teens with your acronym play.)
Yu.T. : What traditionally stood for YouTube is now doubled as an abbreviation for the word “white” – as in the Caucasian language.
The last few are unique to TikTok so far. Over time, they can be used on other platforms:
IB : Inspired. Used to indicate that your content was “inspired” by another creator (which, unfortunately, is often a euphemism for “copied from”).
IC : Loan idea. See above.
DC : Dance merit or dance choreography.
Chair of emoticons . Yes, it’s not an acronym, but it has caused such confusion since it hit the stage in September that it would be an oversight not to mention it. What does this mean? Nothing. Okay, nothing . But nothing to do with a real chair. It started as an internal joke from TikTok user @ blank.antho, who asked people to replace the emoji on the chair with crying laughing emoji to indicate when something is funny (and cause the chaos that is).