Internet acronyms that make most people shake their heads

People use abbreviations to save writing time, but sometimes these verbal shortcuts waste readers’ time and force them to search for their meaning.

A new study by Social media Education Company How sociable Analyzed Google searches for common Internet acronyms to find the most surprising ones. To perform this critical task, they analyzed the number of searches for each single acronym combined with search terms such as “what does the acronym stand for,” “what does the acronym stand for,” and “what does the acronym stand for.”

Results: SMH causes the most head scratching – or head shaking.

SMH, “shake my head,” is commonly used in chat, text, and other forums when someone is frustrated or frustrated with a conversation, situation, or other person. The official Merriam-Webster dictionary definition says that SMH is used to convey a sense of unreliability.

This phrase is often replaced with or with a face-palm emoji. Variations of SMH include “scratch my head” and the less child-friendly SMDH (“shake my damn head”).

The study found that SMH causes an average of 802,858 searches per month, or 9.6 million searches a year.

Related: Don’t say it: These are the most annoying corporate buzzwords, according to a new survey

Top 10 Most Confusing Acronyms

Behind SMH on the list of most confusing acronyms was ‘TBH’, with 306,085 searches per month across America. TBH means “to be honest” and is usually used to express openness or honesty.

The third most searched for acronym is POV, which is Googled about 284,475 times per month in the US. Content creators have been using this term for years to describe the camera’s “point of view”. POV videos are shot from the perspective of a first-person viewer.

But on TikTok and other social media platforms, POV has been used by some creators to refer to any skit centered around a person in an uncomfortable or awkward situation. An example might be an unfortunate encounter at urgent care or prom.

@caroline_easom #pov #fyp #doctorsoftiktok #Comedy #parody #Satire #comedian #Skit #sketchcomedy #actor #Dr ♬ Original Voice – Caroline

Here’s a look at the top 20:

Courtesy of How Sociable

“With new acronyms popping up all the time, it will be interesting to see which stand the test of time and which fall out of fashion,” said a How Sociable spokesperson.