Abbreviations

Is it me or do you find that abbreviations are becoming more the norm- even in formal writing and not just texts?

I can't tell you how many times I have to google an abbreviation I see. An article I just saw on Facebook was titled "ICYMI, A Surprise Home Makeover for a Marine"

What the fuk is ICYMI?

Apparently it's "In case you missed it"

Really? We are abbreviating that now?

I get abbreviating in texting- because you are typing on a small screen, on the run, whatever.

But why in formal articles that are being posted?

Or is it just the "cool" thing to do?

It's becoming annoying....

Re: Abbreviations

you're preaching to the choir.

it took me forever to get "POTUS" lol

there are times i have to stop what i'm doing and say the words to myself... the way a kid talks to himself when doing a math problem... just to see if i got the abbreviation correct. annoying.

Re: Abbreviations

FOMO is another one I can't freaking stand.
But that is more of a social media thing so I get it....

But in every day life- enough!

Re: Abbreviations

I blame Twitter and their limited characters! I find that's when it really took off.
Drives me nuts.

Re: Abbreviations

Before e-mail was around, there was telex, also known as "a cable"
It was an expensive way to send an immediate message, so to reduce the charges, words were shortened,most often by dropping vowels.
tks for thanks
rgds for regards
iso for in search of
etd for estimated departure date

a telex machine looked like a small typewriter, and printed the message you typed on a roll of paper that was fed thru the machine. incoming messages were received the same way.

So today's modern text typing has its roots in the old fashioned tele-typing.

Me being a dinosour, I have had first hand experience typing on a telex machine. Oh the joy when we got e-mail, we were finally able to type full words and sentences.