Stop your LOL-ing and start talking like a boss

PETALING JAYA: In the super fast world of Internet, if “LOL” (laugh out loud) is still your favourite three letter word, the present generation will find that so yesterday.

The lingo among youths has evolved from the “LOL” and “ROFL” (rolling on the floor laughing) of the previous generation, to acronyms and phrases such as “like a boss”, “troll” or “facepalm”.

This whole new set of phrases and abbreviations are called “memes”.

Defined as “the act of doing something as a boss would do” by the Urban Dictionary, the latest generation of Internet users say “Like A Boss” to describe people who do things with an air of superiority and do not care about how others perceive them.

“Trolls” are those who target others with online jeers, while a “facepalm” moment is when you are left speechless by a foolish statement or act by another person.

Those who state the obvious, and post comments or status updates about things which everyone already knows, are now referred to as “Captain Obvious”.

Vijay Ganesan, 28, said he had learnt these Internet memes mostly from a website called 9gag, which features pictures and videos uploaded by users, largely based on memes.

“The posts are very creative and have even influenced the way I speak with friends,” said the civil servant, adding that he used abbreviations like “YOLO” (you only live once) in normal conversations.

Another favourite meme, he said, was the “Why you no....” phrase.

“If we are working late, I ask my friends ‘Why you no go back yet’?” or when my boss questions me, I think to myself, ‘Why you no understand?’,” he quipped.

Another user, Geraldine David, 27, also said memes had made its way into her conversations with friends.

Among the commonly used memes, she said, was “first world problems”, which is used to describe trivial frustrations or complaints.

“Whenever a friend complains that her drink is not hot enough or that she has to wake up early, we just roll our eyes and say ‘first world problems’,” said the recruitment executive, adding that memes were fun to use as well as gave “flavour” to SMSes and conversations.