Blog: Short for “weblog,” blogs are basically online diaries, or they can be focused on something specific. (ValleyTeens is actually a blog). These are free, and access can be restricted depending on the hosting company.
Creeping: This isn’t as bad as it sounds. “Creeping” is what teens are doing when then spend hours on Facebook, MySpace, or other social networking sites looking at friends’ profiles. Because profiles are always being updated, there’s usually lots of new content to see.
Facebook: Originally designed for Harvard students, Facebook attracts an older crowd. Functions and features are similar to MySpace, but greatly enhanced security features (and greatly reduced ad space) make it attractive and, in our opinion, the superior social networking tool. (Of course, things change quickly in the world of Social Networking. Remember Friendster? New sites are cropping up all the time, and we’ll list them here as they come into greater use.)
MySpace: Online social networking, mainly targeted at younger kids (though older kids, and even adults, use it to). Profiles include photos, personal interests, hometown, and other vital stats. MySpace has a low level of security, so all other MySpace users can see everyone else’s profile.
MMORPG: This stands for “Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game.” Examples of this are World of Warcraft or Runescape.
RPG: This is short for “role-playing game,” which can be online or face-to-face. Examples of RPGs are Dungeons and Dragons or Final Fantasy.
Texting: Since you pay the bill, you’re probably aware that your teens like to text more than they like to actually speak on their cell phones. Because of space limitations, frequent texters have their own language of space-saving acronyms. Want to know what some of them mean? Check the text decoder.
Urban Dictionary: This is an open-access online dictionary where people define slang terms. Did your teen use a word you don’t understand? Check the Urban Dictionary for its meaning.
