If you’ve ever stared at a DM and thought, “Wait…what does that even mean?” you’re not alone.  

A new study by ProfileTree, a website design agency, reveals that the British public is especially baffled by internet acronyms, with “FB” topping the list at over 364,000 monthly searches. (Spoiler: it doesn’t mean Facebook, it means follow back.) 

The study gathered a list of acronyms most commonly used on social media. Other curveballs include “TIME” (tears in my eyes), “ATM” (at the moment), and “BBL,” which can mean either a cosmetic surgery (Brazilian butt lift) or a quick away message (be back later). Even “LOL” continues to stump more than 55,000 searchers each month. 

But acronyms are more than linguistic shortcuts; they’re cultural artifacts. Like memes, they travel across platforms and communities, gathering new shades of meaning along the way.  

Acronyms as Memes 

“The simplest definition of a meme is a concept that moves from person to person and changes along the way,” an internet librarian, Amanda Brennan, tells Newsweek. 

Acronyms, she explains, often start in niche communities as a way to decrease the barrier to conversation. Gamers, for example, coined “GG” (good game) decades ago as an end-of-match sign-off. Now you’ll see “GG” casually dropped in Slack threads or text messages to mark any kind of win or even ironically, to acknowledge a loss. 

“As people belong to multiple groups,” Brennan, former head of editorial at Tumblr, notes, “they carry these acronyms between them. That’s where new branches of meaning come from—when someone applies one group’s lens to another context.” 

In-Groups, Out-Groups 

Language, of course, isn’t neutral. Acronyms can act as cultural “in-groups,” offering instant recognition to those who get it while leaving others feeling excluded. “When acronyms are used to signal community membership, they can make people more open with each other,” Brennan says, who specializes in researching the history of image macros, memes and other viral content throughout the web. “But if you don’t know the shorthand, you’re left on the outside.” 

That’s why a city like Oxford in the United Kingdom—home to some of Britain’s brightest students—can still rank among the most acronym-confused. Knowing the right letters is less about intelligence and more about immersion. 

The Meme-ification of Language 

Social media has only accelerated this process. Acronyms aren’t just efficient, they’re social capital. Seeing “BBL” trend on TikTok or “DL” appear in a viral meme nudges people to adopt the shorthand—not just to communicate, but to belong. “If people think an acronym makes them look cool or ‘in,’ they’re more likely to use it,” Brennan explains. 

But online, nothing stays cool for long. What’s viral today may feel cringe by the weekend. Just ask anyone who’s sheepishly typed “YOLO” in 2025. 

Keeping Up (If You Dare) 

So how can you stay up to date? Brennan suggests choosing participation over memorization. “Be active in the communities you care about, and you’ll pick up the language naturally,” she says. For the truly dedicated, newsletters about internet culture can help decode the churn. 

Still, maybe it’s comforting to know that even the most plugged-in among us occasionally have to Google “what does ATM mean?” (Remember, it’s at the moment!) Something cute like that here. After all, acronyms—like the memes they resemble—aren’t meant to stand still. They’re living, shifting markers of culture, always changing as we move from one platform to the next. 

And if that feels overwhelming? Don’t worry. Just smile, nod and type “GG.”