(NEXSTAR) – Since the dawn of the digital age, internet users have developed shorthand ways to express themselves on instant messages and comments, with acronyms like TTYL, BRB, LOL, FYI, and OMG.
As communication and social media continue to develop, many internet slang terms have made their way into everyday and verbal expression. Some have even made their way into the dictionary due to their longevity.
Perhaps one of the most iconic internet slang terms is “LOL.” According to the Calgary Herald, the term was coined in the 1980s by Canadian Wayne Pearson in a pre-internet chat room used in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Since then, LOL has been seen in chats, texts, and social media posts across the world.
But now — as time has seen several follow-up iterations, including ROFL or LMAO — the original “laugh out loud” acronym is becoming a telltale sign that the person typing may be a millennial.
Though the decline in the use of LOL can’t be pinned to one cause, a study from 2015 showed that most people have defaulted to using iterations of “haha,” “hehe,” and a combination of emojis.
Laughing out loud online has changed as newer generations enter the digital sphere. The latest form of laughter expression can sometimes be seen as a random array of letters that have no actual meaning. For example, if you’ve seen “kjshfksjnrgtw” in the comment section of TikTok, it may be safe to say that it’s a Gen Zer behind the keyboard.
In addition to swapping ‘LOL’ for a random smashing of letters on their keyboard to express laughter, Gen Zers have also decided a long-beloved emoji, 😂, is dead. CNN reported earlier this year that, instead, the youngest internet users have opted for the more aggressive 😭 or the skull emoji.
Others have even adopted “IJBOL“, which is another acronym meaning “I just burst out laughing.”
While the youngest among us are still trying to figure out their go-to way to share their amusement, you likely won’t see millennials giving up on LOL anytime soon — some are still hanging on to skinny jeans and “adulting.”