Just FYI: Most searched-for text abbreviations in Canada

There are those who text using full sentences, and others who use abbreviations that make messages look like another language.

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It can be argued that it’s likely the older texters that are the former and the younger peeps (do the kids still say that?) that are the latter, but one thing’s for sure — text correspondence between the generations does have to happen. So, naturally for those not in the know, a little assistance from Google often comes into play.

The word-finding experts at Unscramblerer.com analyzed search data from Google Trends for terms tied to text abbreviations most often used in texts and social media.

“Text abbreviations are the secret language of the internet. You could even call them an integral part of social media culture — snappy, always changing and hard to understand,” a spokesperson for Unscramblerer.com said in a statement.

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And while texting abbreviations are all about saving time and perhaps appearing cool, they noted that keeping up to date with the newest trending abbreviations is no easy task.

They uncovered the 30 abbreviations that are most searched for — that you may or not be familiar with.

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The top abbreviation with 39,000 searches is “WYF,” which translates to “where are you from?”

And if you, like us, didn’t know what that meant, it’s likely because the “A” for “are” is missing, thus not making any sense.

(But that might just be us showing our age. Shhh.)

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In second, with a surprising 37,000 searches, was “POV,” otherwise known as “point of view.”

Third place, with 26,000 searches went to “FOMO,” a.k.a. “fear of missing out,” while 24,000 needed help deciphering “IMO” (“in my opinion”).

Rounding out the Top 5 is ICL, which had 19,000 searching for its meaning, “I can’t lie.”

Here’s the top 10 most searched-for abbreviations:

— WYF (39,000 searches): “Where are you from?”
— POV (37,000 searches): “Point of view”
— FOMO (26,000 searches): “Fear of missing out”
— IMO (24,000 searches): “In my opinion”
— ICL (19,000 searches): “I can’t lie”
— WYLL (18,000 searches): “What you look like?”
— SMH (18,000 searches): “Shake my head”
— OTP (17,000 searches): “One true pairing”
— PMO (16,000 searches): “Put me on”
— HMU (16,000 searches): “Hit me up”

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