Text messaging is a term used to describe the process of sending short messages from one cell phone to another. It was previously referred to as SMS or Short Messaging System because users were only permitted to send short messages with a limited number of characters.
A text message is limited to 160 characters which can include letters, numbers, symbols or spaces. As a result of these text messaging limitations, cell phone users have created an extensive list of text shortcuts, acronyms and abbreviations. These short cuts allow users to take advantage of the limited number of characters permitted in each message.
Short cuts involve the combination of letters, numbers and symbols to effectively reduce the length of a word thereby minimizing the space it will take up in a text message. Acronyms are also very popular when sending a text message and are often used to replace a variety of words or phrases.
Most Common Text Messaging Abbreviations
- ADAD Another Day Another Dollar
- ADDY Address
- AFAYC As Far As Your Concerned
- AFC Away From the Computer
- ASAP As Soon As Possible
- AUC Aren't You Clever
- B4 Before
- B4N Bye For Now
- B/C Because
- BF Boyfriend
- BF Best Friend
- BFF Best Friends Forever
- BFN Bye for Now
- BRB Be Right Back
- BRT Be Right There
- BTW By the Way
- BW Best Wishes
- BZ Busy
- CM Call Me
- CUL8R See You Later
- CYE Check your e-Mail
- CYT See You Tomorrow
- C YA See You Later
- DGA Don't Go Anywhere
- DGT Don't Go There
- DNBL8 Don't Be Late
- EOM End of Message
- ETA Estimated Time of Arrival
- EZ Easy
- F2F Face to Face
- FOAF Friend of a Friend
- FTR For the Record
- FYI For Your Information
- G1 Good One
- GF Girl Friend
- GFI Go For It
- GMTA Great Minds Think Alike
- GTG Got to Go
- G2G Got to Go
- GTK Good To Know
- JJ Just Joking
- JM2C Just My Two Cents
- JMO Just My Opinion
- K Okay
- L8R Later
- LMK Let Me Know
- LOL Laughing Out Loud
- MOF Matter of Fact
- NC No Comment
- NP No Problem
- OIC Oh, I See
- OMG Oh My Goodness
- OO Over and Out
- SLM See Last Message
- SYS See You Soon
- TAFN That's All For Now
- THX Thanks
- TMI Too Much Information
- U You
- U2 You too
- WTG Way to Go
- WTMI Way Too Much Information
- YW You’re Welcome
- 2MI Too Much Information
- 4COL For Crying Out Loud
Over the last ten years text messaging technology has skyrocketed in popularity. In fact, in 2008 there were over 95 billion text messages sent by wireless service users in the United States. The text-messaging feature is by far the most popular add-on cell phone feature and comes in a variety of packages depending on the needs of the user and the options provided by the wireless service provider.
However, most wireless phone users can choose to have an unlimited text messaging package added to their phone service or a pay per text message feature which charges an average of ten cents per text message.
Text messaging short cuts, acronyms and abbreviations provide users with the ability to exchange messages quickly and efficiently without having to type out every word. In fact, the easy to use format and relatively inexpensive cost has supported the exponential growth and popularity of text messaging around the world.
Text messaging has also expanded to include multimedia messaging or MMS. Multimedia messaging uses the same technology as text messaging and allows users to send text messages containing photos, graphics, video clips and audio clips
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