Kids from the ’90s: LOL. In the aughts: ROFL. Now: IJBOL. After decades of LOL-ing and ROFL-ing, it’s time to IJBOL-ing (pronounced ‘eej-bowl’). The acronym IJBOL is popping up in chats with young people because ‘I just burst out laughing’ is cool. ‘Laughing out loud’ is fine and ‘rolling on floor laughing’ is more specific. Let’s take it a step further with IJBOL which expresses a type of laugh that arises from either surprise or holding it in.

IJBOL is not exactly a 2023 phenomenon but it gathered steam first among K-pop fans since ‘–bol’ is a common ending in Korean. The online publication Mashable has gone to the point of exploring the usage of IJBOL and has associated with the likes of Nicki Minaj, who fell back in her chair with laughter on a livestream, and Taylor Swift, who loudly “ha-ha”-ed into a microphone onstage, surrounded by fans. But it seems US vice-president Kamala Harris sort of represents IJBOL because she is often seen chuckling unprompted.

If you have a Gen Z-focused Instagram Reels feed, the acronym is sure to show up. Also, IJBOL is meme-worthy. The question is whether you should use it with your boss in office? LOL is understandable and so is ROFL but make sure you read the boss’s mind before IJBOL-ing. Hope you are LMAO-ing.