@Dalia yes it is scary and exciting I think at the same time. I think all we can do is atrt having the conversation with our children even if we don’t know the answer. At least of we are opne to talking they are more likley to come to us when there is a problem

Heres a few that are up to date.

Epic fail / Fail – (The meaning is pretty self explanatory..)
Awesome – (Again, self explanatory.)
Cool – (Self explanatory.)
Sick – Cool, awesome impressive
Hot – Attractive
Pwn – (You already listed this one.)
Epic win / Win – Opposite to Epic fail / Fail
Pez – Really weak or pathetic / Small penis / No guts
Mole – Ugly girl
Bieber – A bowl hair cut (“To do a bieber” or “Give yourself a Bieber”)
Ending words in “eh” (started on the internet, some people use it in real life, too.) Examples: Funneh, Sexeh, Pretteh, etc
Sexy – Used to describe a friend who’s attractive, but you only say it half heartedly. It doesn’t mean “I am sexually attracted to you”, it means “You’re hot and we’re friends so I’m allowed to exaggerate how hot you are and make a joke of it.”

Those are only a few. I dunno, I’m tired. But yeah, you’ve got it all pretty wrong. xD Sorry..
Then theres TONNES of internet slang to learn that alot of teens use irl (in real life) too.

A few of my friends actually say “Lol” while they laugh.
Or lmao, rofl.

I encourage the parents I coach, not to put their head in the sand over all this new technology and exciting new ways to communicate globally. But as in Life generally – it’s ALL about balance. I think parents need to be open to embrace it, kids need to be mindful what they talk about as they may find it comes back to bite them in an interview if they are not careful and aware of the technologies implications.

We all need boundaries around the amount of time we spend on our technology, and to understand the wonderful as well as the dangerous and addictive nature to this new way of communicating. I find Seth Godin’s books, blogs and work to be fascinating about the positive ways to embrace our 21st century communications.

Thought provoking post Sarah – as always great stuff !
Sue Atkins
Author of “Raising Happy Children for Dummies”

Sarah

Howe and Strauss talk about four different generational “themes” I have pasted below from wikipedia. Some people dislike this model but to me it makes sense like a creative cycle of construction and deconstruction. The heroic generation “shake things up” and I certainly think we have seen this in everything Gen Y touch…..but it is only my opinion…..

trauss and Howe state that Generations last the length of time of one phase of life–the same length of time as a turning. Like turnings, generations come in four different archetypes, defined in “The Fourth Turning” as Prophet, Nomad, Hero, and Artist.[1]

* Prophets are values-driven, moralistic, focused on self, and willing to fight to the death for what they believe in- and they can convince other people to join them in the fight. They grow up as the increasingly indulged children of a High, come of age as the young crusaders of an Awakening, enter midlife as moralistic leaders during an Unraveling and are the wise, elder leaders of the next Crisis. The Boomers are an example of a Prophet generation.[1]

* Nomads are ratty, tough, unwanted, diverse, adventurous, and cynical about institutions. They grow up as the underprotected children of an Awakening, come of age as the alienated young adults of an Unraveling, become the pragmatic, midlife leaders of a Crisis and age into tough, post-crisis elders during a High. Generation X and the Lost Generation are examples of Nomad generations.[1]

* Heroes are conventional, powerful, and institutionally driven, with a profound trust in authority. They grow up as the increasingly protected children of an Unraveling, come of age as the Heroic, team-working youth of a Crisis, become energetic and hubristic mid-lifers during a High and become the powerful elders who are attacked in the next Awakening. The G.I. Generation that fought World War II is an example of a Hero generation. Millennials are expected to emerge as the next generation of this example.[1]

* Artists are subtle, indecisive, emotional and compromising, often having to deal with feelings of repression and inner conflict. They grow up as the over-protected children of a Crisis, come of age as the sensitive young adults of a High, rebel as indecisive midlife leaders during an Awakening, and become the empathic elders of an Unraveling. The Silent Generation is an example of an Artist generation.[1] The iGeneration (the term coined by Larry Rosen in his book Rewired: Understanding the iGeneration and the Way They Learn) is expected to emerge as the next generation of this example.