In the 21st century, we have all different types of slang terms. We have LOL, BRB, TTYL, LMFAO... There are so many great slangs terms that I myself am guilty of overusing. However, the down side is that there's one slang term that should never be used. And that is KYS.
For those who don't know what KYS means, it stands for "Kill Your Self." I am sure many of you are thinking, "Wow, that's awful! Nobody uses that!" Well, that's what I used to think until I realized that it's one of the most used slang terms ever. Many of us send it, thinking it's funny or thinking it's cute. Unfortunately, it isn't funny and it isn't cute. It's cruel, and whether you mean it or not, you should never send it. We hide behind technology, and just think, would you ever type "Kill Your Self" to someone? Shortening up the phrase to KYS makes it easier to send, but just because it's easier doesn't mean it's not still effective.
Approximately 105 people die from suicide per day. Key word: DAY. And even worse. there's one death by suicide in the world every 40 seconds. Whether you want to admit it or not, that is a large amount of lives lost in such a short amount of time. You may think that you aren't harming anything by sending KYS, and that nothing bad will ever happen from sending that, but that's not the truth. I constantly see the term KYS typed all the time. Whether it be in comments, pictures, texts, Snapchats, tweets, etc., it is used all the time. You use it as a joke or a way to insult someone, but what if one day, that "joke" goes too far?
You may be texting someone who is severely depressed and you don't know it. The majority of depressed people are people who you would have never guessed that they were depressed. Because depression is a sad, hurting person covering it up with a smile. So your friend could be depressed for all you know. So think of it this way: Obviously if that person is your friend, you care about them and you would never want anything bad to happen to them. However, what if you send KYS to your friend who is depressed or suicidal? Those three letters could be just enough to send them over the edge. And than the next morning you could wake up and get a call from your friend's parents, saying that your friend committed suicide last night.
Suicide isn't a joke and it's not funny. You should never encourage someone to kill themselves. And even though you think it's funny to send "KYS" to a friend, they might not find it funny. In fact, they might find it rude and be hurt by it. It all comes back to thinking before you act. Now, I'm aware that this article won't stop people from sending KYS to each other. but truth be told, those three letters that may seem harmless aren't so harmless at all.
