THE ACRONYM TTM is used most commonly on social media apps including Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.
It has become more popular as a means of urgency when one person is chatting with another.
TTM has become popular on Snapchat and other apps as the abbreviation meaning, Talk to Me.
It is used to share a sense of urgency, but can sometimes be compared to something as simple as the phrase hit me up.
While the phrase has been around for years, it has become more commonplace, and according to Urban Dictionary it is the shortened expression to say, “I need/want to hear back from you ASAP!”
The site uses the example, “When Carla got back from her vacation in Jamaica, I couldn’t wait to hear all the details!!! I sent her a text as soon as I knew her plane landed simply putting ‘TTM!!!!!’
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“…Needless to say, she called me as soon as she got out of the airport with all of her updates!!”
The acronym, TTM, is not unusual having started in the early 2000s while instant messaging friends, and then moving on to texting, followed by social media.
Some may remember the commercial using the phrase “Idk. My BFF Jill,” as an example.
This shorthand method of communicating goes as far back as the mid-1800s, the New York Times Magazine reported in 2010.
According to the outlet, the first recorded example was featured in The Christian’s Monthly Magazine and Universal Review.
In the article, an abbreviation of the Latin phrase Senatus Populusque Romanus, SPQR, meaning The Senate and People of Rome, was used.
The popularity of shorthand has risen in popularity since it was first introduced, most commonly because of the ease and efficiency of communication.
An individual can use slang terms in the form of creating mayhem or using it as a way to hide their intentions.
The Association for Psychological Science says the ability to use slang in the form of a code would create the notion that the discussion was “complicated or impressive.”
Creighton University professor Roger A. Brumback wrote in the Journal of Child Neurology, that the origin of abbreviations can be traced to World War II.
During this time, acronyms were used to conceal a message from an enemy.
However, studies suggest that in recent years, by using slang, or acronyms, individuals can feel a sense of inclusivity with others.
Duke University psychological scientist Dan Ariely wrote in his book, The Upside of Irrationality, that acronyms “confer a kind of secret insider knowledge; they give people a way to talk about an idea in shorthand.
“They increase the perceived importance of ideas, and at the same time they also help keep other ideas from entering the inner circle.”
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