Well before it became a popular comedy show on Prime Video, the term LOL for many it was indicative of a specific gesture: laughing out loud. At least on the web. But we know very well that the loud laughter emoticon on the web does not always correspond to true hilarity in real life (but that’s another story). However we are in 2023, and that much used and abused LOL on MSN Messenger is about to become IJBOL. New term, same laugh.
But what does LOL mean?
If words like MSN Messenger and LOL have made you think of prehistory, you’re probably just too young (or we’re too old). At the time of the famous rapid messaging software, terms like LOL, LMAO don’t ROTFL they were practically in common use, also because they were often associated with certain emoticons in chat.
Here’s a quick Boomer-GenZ dictionary:
- LOL: Laughing Out Loud. Literally: laughing out loud.
- LMAO: Laughing my ass off. We don’t translate this because we are gentlemen
- ROTFL: Rolling On The Floor Laughing. That is, “laughing so hard you roll on the floor.” A bit exaggerated, right?
LOL officially becomes IJBOL: new term, same laugh
IJBOL, which is the acronym for I just burst out laughing (I’m cracking up laughing), it almost seems like the symbol of a generation that tries to renew the language of the Internet, making it fresher and more genuine.
The New York Times believes that the origin of the new term comes from culture K-Popwhich has spread mainly on TikTok since 2021. The acronym aims to indicate loud and spontaneous laughter, as the LOL of the older generation is seen as obsolete and insincere.