Best In Youth Media: UrbanDictionary.com
Posted by anastasia on 10-20-2008
Today’s Youth Advisory Board feature is from Bruna Bonguardo, who reminds us that the Urban Dictionary isn’t just a place to look up various slang — it’s also a glimpse into teen life illustrated by language. Remember you can contact our board directly via email at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com.
Best In Youth Media: UrbanDictionary.com
UrbanDictionary.com is one of the top 250 sites on the web. It was even nominated by the Time Magazine as one of the 50 best websites of 2008. So what is Urban Dictionary? It’s a web-based dictionary of definitions of slang words, phrases, and even emoticons (like o_O, for example, which according to the Urban Dictionary means “confused, stunned or weirded out”).
It’s amazing how much teenagers like this successful website, and how helpful it can be for adults trying to understand and reach teens. Anyone can contribute to Urban Dictionary, even anonymous users.
On this website you can find definitions of a word like “cool,” or even more complicated words to define, like “love.” But the thing is that you don’t necessarily have to agree with the definitions, you can simply vote them “up” or “down.” There are some words with just one or two definitions, while other words have hundreds.
In October 2005 some Urban Dictionary’s definitions were turned into a book called Urban Dictionary: Fularious Street Slang Defined. In October 2007, the second book was made available, the Mo’ Urban Dictionary: Ridonkulous Street Slang Defined.
Some of the highest-rated definitions on Urban Dictionary are about the Urban Dictionary itself. They claim that it “is a place formerly used to find out about slang, and now a place that teens with no life use as a burn book,” and the “coolest semi-fake dictionary ever made,” or even “the result of millions of teenagers who have too much free time.”
However its users define it, Urban Dictionary is definitely a very helpful website for offering a peek inside the teenage mind.
About Bruna Bonguardo
Bruna is a 16-year-old Brazilian teenager who moved to Israel in 2004. She can speak, read and write in four languages, and she loves learning about new cultures. Bruna always loved computers, and she wants to study computer science in college. She also loves webdesign and writing, and she had a blog for about two years. Now she’s planning to start a new one again. Even though she loves writing, her passion is reading. She loves reading fiction books, but now she’s starting to read autobiographies and non-fiction books. She is a senior in High School, where she successfully studies Software Engineering.
Categorized under: Web, Youth Advisory Board