STTM Is a New Acronym That Has Emerged on TikTok, and It Isn't Very Nice

No platform has had a stronger foothold on the culture in recent years than TikTok, which has become one of the most dominant platforms in the social media landscape. As its user base has continued to expand, it has also given more and more people access to Gen Z, the young people that dominate the platform. They often come with their own slang terms that require a dictionary to decode.

We've spent plenty of time documenting the many slang terms that pop up on TikTok over the years, but as more time passes, new terms continue to emerge. Some of the terms are specific to TikTok, while some are just terms that are used regularly by young people, but older people may not be familiar with them. One recent example of this is STTM. Here's what we know about what the acronym stands for.

STTM is an acronym that almost always means "Stop Talking to Me." It's a pretty curt and dismissive way to respond to someone when you want a conversation to be over. STTM can be used in many different circumstances and scenarios. Sometimes, a person might use it in a text chat as part of an argument or simply to let everyone know that they're done with the current conversation.

Other times, the acronym can be used in the comments under a video on TikTok to signal a user's disinterest in the current conversation.

Although the term is often considered to be rude, it can also be used more playfully among friends. It all depends on the context, and it's sometimes just meant as a way to change the subject without being too dismissive. Ultimately, you'll need to read social cues to understand how exactly the term is being used.

Although "stop talking to me" is definitely the acronym's primary meaning, it can also be used to stand in for "send this to me" or "something tells me." Again, the best way to tell which definition is being used is to look at the context it's being used in. In general, though, your default assumption should be that the acronym means "stop talking to me" unless that definition makes absolutely no sense.

Unfortunately for those of us who have trouble keeping up, TikTok slang is going to continue growing and changing. New acronyms and other slang terms are going to keep popping up. The reason for these terms' existence varies, but acronyms have always been a popular way to shorten the amount of time it takes to say something.

STTM isn't going to be the last new TikTok algorithm that confuses users on the platform. All we can do is try to keep up and realize that it's OK not to understand everything that's being said on a particular platform at any given time. Distractify will continue to unpack the latest TikTok slang terms and acronyms.