Decoded: tbh

When someone says "tbh" alongside a statement of fact or opinion, the speaker assures that the fact or opinion is indeed an honest one rather than a lie. The term "tbh" is an acronym for "to be honest."

Aren't acronyms that help us separate honest statements from dishonest statements so helpful? Rather than simply trusting in the truthfulness of a peer's comment, millennials today feel a need to say or write "tbh."

The acronym was originally developed to aid people in interpreting sarcasm on social media platforms, as such tones can be difficult to pick up on via Twitter, text, Vine, Facebook, etc. Thus, when "tbh" accompanies a social media post, the acronym indicates that the post should be taken for face value.

Younger millennials use the term on Facebook by offering a "tbh" in exchange for a "like" on a Facebook status. A youngster would write "like my status for a tbh" and would then message each person who "likes" said status telling these people how he or she feels about them. The whole charade is basically how kids flirt these days. It can evolve into quite a dramatic little game.

Here are some examples of how millennials use (read: overuse) the term.

"Tbh I'm kind of glad I didn't get into that college. It wasn't the right fit."
"Tbh she's not very nice and I'd rather not be friends with her."
"He's kind of cute tbh."



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