Get slang savvy to protect your child

Durban 200910 Cyber story Pic Terry Haywood FACE OFF: If you are not talking to your children, someone else may be doing so online. picture: terry haywood computer children online

Durban 200910 Cyber story Pic Terry Haywood FACE OFF: If you are not talking to your children, someone else may be doing so online. picture: terry haywood computer children online

Published Dec 18, 2014

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London - If you thought you had teenage internet-speak cracked by getting to grips with acronyms such as “LOL” (laugh out loud) and “LMK” (let me know), think again.

Do you know the meaning of “IWSN” or “GNOC”? Considering these are acronyms for “I want sex now” and “get naked on camera” used by youngsters, it’s probably a good idea that parents wise up.

These shorthands are just some of the 28 online abbreviations that feature in a new report by CNN about teenagers’ secret online language.

The list, collated by Kelly Wallace with the help of internet safety expert Katie Greer, also contains slang such as “420” for “marijuana”, “POS” for “parent over shoulder” and the phrase every parent dreads their teenager reading, “(L)MIRL” for “let’s meet in real life”.

Greer’s research has found the majority of teens think their parents are trying to keep tabs on them online, so these acronyms are used to hide certain parts of their conversations. “Acronyms used for this purpose could potentially raise some red flags for parents,” she warns.

Renowned parenting expert and author of Calmer, Easier Happier Parenting, Noël Janis-Norton, believes it’s useful to have a good understanding of your child’s online language, but warns that “teens will always stay one step ahead”.

She added: “If a teen wants to hide something from their parents, they usually manage to. Often teenagers have a Facebook page that their parents know about and then another one for their real friends. So the most important thing is to keep lines of communication open and to create opportunities for them to absorb your values.”

Not understanding the boundaries and repercussions of appropriate online behaviour can lead to problems in the real world. Explicit pictures or video footage can be used by peers to bully, threaten and blackmail or end up in the hands of sexual predators.

As Claire Lilley, head of child safety online at the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, explains: “Offenders with a sexual interest in children can be extremely manipulative and devious, lying about who they are and creating fake profiles on social networks young people use.

“Some offenders are interested in meeting and sexually abusing children offline and may use the online exchanges to try to groom a child into a meeting. For others, getting a child to perform sexually over webcam is their only objective, but this can be equally devastating for the victims.”

Janis-Norton agrees that the dangers are very real: “Studies have shown that even if you put children who think they’re very media savvy in front of a computer, they can be lured into chatrooms with people posing as a teenager within a few clicks.”

If parents become aware that their teenager is in trouble online, Janis-Norton advises talking seriously while taking care not to appear shocked. “Shock has the flavour of disapproval,” she says. “It will discourage teenagers from sharing what they’re doing.

“As parents, we need an understanding attitude – that it’s easy for teens to be sucked in online. Start a conversation with ‘I’m worried’ rather than using words such as ‘angry’ or ‘disgusted’.” – Daily Mail

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