You’ve probably seen people throwing around the phrase “TBH,” but what does it mean? This expression has been around for quite a while, but its meaning has changed somewhat over time.
“To Be Honest” or “To Be Heard”
In most situations, TBH is used as a direct abbreviation for “to be honest.” It’s an initialism that gained traction in the late 90s or early 2000s, and its origins are closely associated with internet forums, internet relay chat (IRC), and text-message culture.
TBH is usually placed at the beginning or the end of a sentence to convey a feeling of frankness. If someone wants to be candid about an opinion, they could say “TBH, I hate video games.” Of course, TBH can also be used as a tool for bluntness, flattery, or insult. You could lift somebody up with a comment like “TBH, you’re a strong and genuine person” or bring them down with “TBH, I hate your taste in movies.”
Seems pretty straightforward, right? Well, TBH lives a secret life among teenagers. Some kids understand TBH as an abbreviation for “to be heard”—a catchall term for social interactions that are confessional in nature.
There’s even a genre of social media posts called “TBH posts” where kids ask for their blunt opinions of each other. Teenagers might say “like this post for a TBH,” or “TBH for TBH” with the intention of handing out (or receiving) blunt opinions. These opinions are usually meant to be complimentary or humorous, but they can also be intentionally hurtful or abusive (these are teenagers we’re talking about, after all).
From TBH and Back Again
As we mentioned earlier, TBH (to be honest) became a common phrase during the late 90s or early 2000s. It was probably used in IRC or SMS conversations to convey a sense of honesty or candor before spreading onto message boards and websites. The first Urban Dictionary entry for TBH was added in 2003, and (according to Google Trends) the word didn’t hit the big time until 2011.
The teenage definition of TBH (to be heard) has a similarly vague history. It’s safe to assume the phrase (along with phrases like “TBH for TBH”) began cropping up on websites like Facebook and Tumblr around 2010. At least, that’s when question-answer sites like ask.fm were trendy.
Anyway, the alternative definition of TBH flew under the radar until 2015 or 2016, when morning news shows and publications like Business Insider reported on it as a potential form of bullying. Facebook must have noticed the trend, as the company purchased a question-answer app called TBH in 2017. The app, which failed, was targeted toward teenagers and followed a weird kind of quiz format.
Sadly, the teenage definition of TBH is currently on the way out. It has lost traction on Google Trends, it hasn’t appeared in any Business magazines, and Instagram’s Story Stickers have effectively streamlined the process of asking your friends for a TBH.
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