Age/sex/location

For the Ari Lennox album, see Age/Sex/Location (album).
"A/S/L" redirects here. For other uses, see ASL (disambiguation).

Age/sex/location (commonly referred to by the shorthand A/S/L, asl or ASL) is an article of Internet slang used in instant messaging programs and in Internet chatrooms. It is used in shorthand as a question to quickly find out the age, sex, and general location of the person with whom someone is interacting.

It is often asked as a question in romantic and sexual contexts online,[1] but it may be used also to just get some defining characteristics of a user.

Variations

  • A/S/L/P or ASLP are short for "Age, Sex, Location, and Picture".[2][3]
  • NASL is short for "Name, Age, Sex, Location".[4]
  • ASLNP (or written as "A/S/L/N/P"): "Age/Sex/Location/Name/Picture".[5]
  • ASLR is short for "age, sex, location, race".
  • ASLRP is short for "age, sex, location, race, picture".[6]
  • A/S is short for "Age/Sex".[7]
  • A/S/L/M/H is short for "Age, sex, location, music, hobbies".[6][8]

Criticism

The fact that users often seek A/S/L information in "initial interactions" implies an "emphasis on the physical body online". 52% of the MOO character descriptions referenced age, sex, location, or physical appearance.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Definition of ASL". Dictionary.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-07. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
  2. ^ "ASL". Computer Hope. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  3. ^ Roche, Steve (2004). Protect Your Children from Internet and Mobile Phone Dangers: An Easy-to-understand Handbook for Worried Parents. Sparkwave. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-9546805-4-1.
  4. ^ "NASL". The Free Dictionary. Archived from the original on 2013-06-07. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  5. ^ "ASLNP". The Free Dictionary. Archived from the original on 2006-02-06. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Symens, Becky. Acronyms Dictionary for Texting Chatting E-mail. Rebecca J Symens. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-578-07716-1.
  7. ^ "A/S". The Free Dictionary. Archived from the original on 2005-12-16. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
  8. ^ Crystal, David (10 July 2008). Txtng: The Gr8 Db8. OUP Oxford. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-19-162340-0.
  9. ^ Joinson, Adam (12 April 2007). Oxford Handbook of Internet Psychology. OUP Oxford. p. 228. ISBN 978-0-19-856800-1.