Suggesting suicide
This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Texters use abbreviations for convenience, and no word can be too short.
The humorous context makes it seem OK to use cruel words if you abbreviate them. A new abbreviation has appeared: "kys," for kill yourself. You use kys after someone disagrees with or offends you.
As the use of social media increases, so does the suggestion to kill yourself. Every 13.7 minutes someone in America dies by suicide.
So please, be aware of the harm your choice of words may inflict on a person. If you can't say the word in real life, don't say it all, even in an abbreviation.
Anna Naranjo
Salt Lake City