SOS

Standard distress signal; represented in morse code by short short short, long long long, short short short; often used as a noun, i.e. "I sent out an SOS."

SOS is a texting and chatting acronym that means "someone over shoulder." Senders use it to warn message recipients to be careful what they type since another person on their end is watching.

Teenagers are most likely to use the SOS acronym as a code to warn their friends that they are under surveillance (likely by their parents). It is a more general version of the POS acronym people use to warn that a parent is watching the conversation specifically.

People other than teenagers may use SOS when messaging. For example, if two friends are discussing gift ideas for someone reading their conversation, the person may send "SOS. TTYL!"

SOS is an acronym that stands for "same old stuff," which is another way to say that nothing new is going on in your life. It is a common reply to "What's happenin'?" when character space is tight, like when texting or online.

The acronym is typically used by people who lead boring lives, so if you are using it a lot, get out and go do something. Also, as an FYI, there are various definitions for the "SOS" acronym, so it may be confusing to the recipient.

On rare occasions, SOS might stand for "someone special." When used this way, the acronym refers to someone who is near and dear to a person's heart.

However, SOS is much more likely to mean "someone over shoulder," "save our souls," or "same old s***" than "someone special." Hopefully, context will help you decide whether the person you're chatting with is in distress or telling you about their SO.