New app helps parents decode their kids’ text messages

PTI Updated - November 17, 2017 at 01:57 PM.

Scientists have developed a new app which will help parents decipher the modern-day text message lingo their kid uses.

TextGenie, a new app created by UK-based software solutions company, DCML deciphers text language and slang from incoming SMS messages and translates them into plain English for confused parents, The Telegraph reported.

Research by DCML claimed that 84 per cent of parents with teenagers admit to receiving text messages from their children which they simply do not understand.

Parents often find messages littered with abbreviations and texts speak hard to understand — such as 2go2 (to go to) or 2nyt (tonight).

Drawing on an existing catalogue of 1,500 abbreviations, TextGenie allows people to build up their own database of words and phrases often used by their children.

According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 63 per cent of teenagers now send text messages every day — compared with just 39 per cent using their phone to make calls.

Published on August 26, 2012 11:07