COMPUTER TALK Teens online buddy up with IM

By JoANN JONES
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
WT RU DNG.
N/M.
WAN2 G 2 THGM?
f you're having problems with this, you're probably too old.
Teens use these abbreviations all the time as they get on line to "talk to their friends." Communicating in the shortest, fastest way possible, they use "texting" as a fun and easy way to IM, or Instant Message, their friends. In fact, using an instant messaging service has become an addiction for some teens.
"I use AOL [America Online] Instant Messenger a lot, and sometimes it pulls me away from my schoolwork," said Nathan Kennedy, a Sebring McKinley senior. "I think it's kind of addictive."
"Oh, my gosh, it's like the most addicting thing ever," said Tarion Young, a West Branch senior who's been using Instant Messenger for over two years. "I can't function if I don't have an away message when I go out."
AWAY MSG?
WHTS THT?
Teens can leave messages when they're gone from their computers. Messages range from the simple BRB (be right back) to more complex messages such as, "If I don't come back, it's because they put me away for choking my coach."
Many kids have found it beneficial to use more than one Instant Messenger provider.
"I've used AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Instant Messenger, and MSN Instant Messenger," said Hannah Stalder, also a Sebring McKinley senior.
Instant messenger services are free downloads. For teens who are always looking for the cheapest, as well as the fastest, way to communicate, these are popular. Some teens download all the services so they can converse with any friends on other services.
R TEENS IMMIN A LOT?
Some teens spend up to six hours a day sending instant messages, while others go online several different times per day for short periods of time. However, most say that Instant Messenger, despite its addictive qualities, doesn't interfere with schoolwork or extra-curricular activities.
"I'm online from two to six hours a day," said Mike Weibel, a Sebring McKinley sophomore. "I love this because it gives you a chance to meet new people and keep in touch with the people you know. I've been talking to someone I met, and she's really nice."
A three-year veteran Instant Messenger user, Mikah Berger, a Berlin Center Western Reserve junior, said cheerleading, basketball, softball and golf come before talking to her friends on the computer. She said she enjoys using IM to talk to her friends and the people she's met from other schools. All these friends end up on her "buddy list."
WHTS A BUDDY LIST?
Buddy lists -- the lists of people with whom teens communicate on their computers -- number into the hundreds for some middle school and high school students. When someone on a buddy list goes online, that person's screen name appears.
Wakawakawoowoo, Cheerprincess, Jumpinjack, Soccerbabe, and Theuntouchable are among the names that appear on buddy lists. Sometimes the anonymity makes it difficult for parents to know who their children are talking to on the computer. Kids like it when their parents are in the dark.
Instant Messenger is very popular, though, for one simple reason: It enables teens to multi-task. Talking to several people at once and using the Internet to do research or check out favorite Web sites--all in front of a computer screen in the privacy of their own rooms--is heaven for teens.
HOW MANY PPL CAN U IM AT 1S?
"I've been on with 15-20 people at once," said Nate Greenawalt, a sophomore at West Branch. "You can talk to more than one person at a time unlike a telephone."
Greenawalt, who is also a veteran IMer, said he doesn't feel addicted to his computer conversations. He gets online when he's bored, and he knows his friends are on. A football and basketball player, Greenawalt spends a few hours a day using IM.
"When I'm on the phone, I can't talk to four or five people at once," Sebring sophomore Brandon Keene said. "I like AOL Instant Messenger because I can talk to all my friends at once." Keene spends two or three hours a day online and about four hours on the weekends.
Others, however, find the multiple conversations too taxing.
& quot;I only talk to a couple people at a time, & quot; sophomore Travis Tolson said. & quot;It gets annoying when you're talking to a lot of people about different things. & quot;
Berger agreed that trying to talk to too many people at once hindered conversations rather than helped them.
& quot;I was on with eight people at once, & quot; she said. & quot;They all got mad at me because I wasn't talking to them very much. & quot;
Y DO TEENS LIKE IM?
Another Sebring senior, Jeff Hamon, said instant messaging enables him to sit back and relax and talk to people he knows. It's also helped him to build greater friendships.
"Because the person is not staring you in the face, I think it's easier for both parties to speak freely," Hamon said.
That's a good point. Kids who are shy can say things they normally wouldn't, and even talk to people they normally wouldn't. IM has no social boundaries and even makes it easy for middle schoolers to talk to high school kids who usually wouldn't give them the time of day. Again, let's not let Dad know his 12-year-old princess is talking to that 17-year-old big, bad wolf. Oops, those fairy tales are a bit mixed up.
WHTS 4 HOMWRK?
Believe it or not, teens actually use IM as a homework helper. And if they're clever and can find out their teachers' screen names, they IM their teachers if they're having problems.
"I have actually talked to friends from school to figure out to do homework," Berger said. "It's pretty convenient."
Mallory Schneider, a Sebring sophomore, was having difficulty finding information for a report she was doing on Francis Scott Key. She IMed a friend to get a teacher's screen name, and then IMed the teacher to asked for help.
FYI, B4 U USE IM, LRN THE LNGUG.
To keep conversations short and simple, the teens use texting to communicate. Texting also helps to keep parents from knowing what's going on, even if parents stand over the teens as they type.
Write something funny? LOL. Laugh out loud.
Understand what your buddy said? IC. I see.
Out of things to say? TTYL. Talk to you later.
Parents telling you to come do dinner or do your homework? G2G. Got to go.
Many teens have favorite text messages they use all the time. Top ones include JK (just kidding), U (you), PPL (people), R (are), Y (why) and OMG (oh, my gosh). One young man, who has 158 people on his buddy list, loves to use GAMH (go away, meathead). Archie Bunker could have used that one had he known how to use a computer.
NED A TRNSLATOR?
Andrews McMeel Publishing of Kansas City has published a series of books on texting, which can also be used to send messages on cell phones. The four books are called "Get Texting," "Keep Texting," "Total Texting," and "Love Texting."
The books give text messages for different occasions, translate jokes and proverbs into text messages, and instruct users how to download icons. Icons are also favorites in sending instant messages. "I like the face sticking out its tongue," Sebring sophomore Kaylee Phillips said. "I use the smiley face when I'm in a really good or silly mood and the angel face to show innocence."
"My favorite text expression is the 'wink,'" added her classmate Andrew Diver. "When I'm not sure of what to say, I just put that in, and normally it works to start a new conversation."
Teens love Instant Messenger because it enables them to talk to a lot of people at once, or meet new people. But, as always, something as seemingly perfect as this, brings a warning label with it.
"There are some sick people out there who want to talk to you," Sebring senior Laura Steed said. "And everybody wants to know your business."
And, as usual, technology brings about changes in behavior.
"I think if we spend too much time at the computer," Kennedy said, "then we'll become anti-social."