There’s nothing that makes you feel more out of the loop than when someone messages you something you don’t understand. Even worse, you don’t know whether to face the embarrassment of asking what it means or try to fake your way around it. Trying to parse out the meaning, you think, is this a new thing? Am I old? These days, people may be questioning the WYLL meaning on Snapchat. Who is Wyll, anyway?
Well, turns out Wyll isn’t a person, it’s an acronym. But you can hardly be faulted for not knowing what it means. Internet slang has been evolving at a breakneck pace since ye olde days of AOL and MySpace. Every common internet acronym caused confusion before its eventual adoption into the lexicon. LOL, OMG, NSFW, TL;DR and TIL all looked like meaningless keysmashes at one point. But through the power of cultural osmosis, they became words in and of themselves, with shared meanings and uses.
What Does WYLL Mean On Snapchat?
WYLL actually stands for a pretty simple phrase – What you look like? It’s a question that often comes up when you’ve met someone online or through a friend, but haven’t met in person yet. The person could be gauging romantic interest, or they might just be curious. Either way, it’s clear that this person wants to know more about you.
One of the main components that makes the Internet the Internet is the potential for anonymity. Even YouTubers and streamers can amass millions of followers without ever showing their faces. So, if you haven’t met someone yet, it’s only natural to wonder what they look like.
How Do You Respond To WYLL?
You could always send an in-depth description of your appearance – 5’8″, curly dark hair, brown eyes – but probably the person asking this is requesting you reply with a selfie. If you choose to do so, it’s only fair to prompt them to do the same afterwards, if you don’t already know what they look like.
Ultimately, how you respond depends on the dynamics of your relationship thus far. If things are friendly between you and everything is going well, it can be a great way to get closer to someone. Plus, if you do eventually meet in person, then you can recognise one another easily. If you don’t trust the person, however, or if anything about your conversation thus far has set off alarm bells, absolutely do not feel like you have to reveal what you look like. Put your safety first and set whatever boundaries feel right for you.
See also: The Gas App Taking Over Snapchat Explored
