A New Era of Communication
When the internet first became mainstream in the 1990s, it brought with it a new way of communicating. Email, instant messaging, and early social networks like MySpace and Friendster allowed people to connect in ways that were different than all sorts of communication we’d used before. They were faster than traditional letters but more casual than face-to-face or telephone conversations. This shift created the perfect environment for a new kind of language: one that was quick, informal, and often playful.
Internet slang emerged from necessity. In the early days of messaging, character limits and slower typing speeds made brevity crucial. Abbreviations like “BRB” (be right back) and “TTYL” (talk to you later) were born out of the need to convey meaning without spending too much time typing. But as these terms spread through online communities, they began to take on a life of their own.