If you don’t know your GNOC from your LMIRL, or any of the other popular teen chat acronyms flying around in cyberspace today, a new language guide will make everything clear.
You won’t like knowing that your child is being asked to get naked on camera (GNOC) but it’s better to know what you’re dealing with so you can take appropriate safety measures.
The “decoding dictionary” has been launched by the Government as part of ParentInfo, an online initiative set up to give tips on surviving teenage life and give parents the confidence to broach sensitive topics with their kids.
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The dictionary from the Department for Education provides translations for all the acronyms commonly used on anonymous chat rooms, such as ASL (age, sex, location) and LMIRL (let’s meet in real life).
Many of the chat room discussions have sexual content, such as IWSN (I want sex now), 1174 (nude club) and GYPO (get your pants off).
Other acronyms have been created specifically to keep parents out of the loop, including MOS (Mum over shoulder), P911 (Parent alert) and KPC (keep parents clueless).
According to the Department for Education, one in five parents say they don’t feel that they have the knowledge and tools to keep their children safe on the Internet.
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Education Secretary Nicky Morgan — who is a parent herself — said that, although it must be recognised that the Internet is “an incredibly powerful tool” to help children learn and stay in touch, “we must also make sure we do everything we can to help them stay safe online.”
Other issues addressed by ParentInfo, which has been developed by the National Crime Agency’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) and The Parent Zone, include cyber bullying and body confidence to help parents equip their kids with the tools they need to stay safe in the digital world.
Articles, videos and Q&As will tackle difficult topics like sex, relationships and the Internet and peer pressure as well as broader parenting topics.
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