# = pound sign

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The Internet has generated, from the start, its own speech for communicating on it. Through the popularity of social media the vocabulary has grown organically, exponentially  and, as far as the result encroaches on regular "offline" communique, ridiculously. 

no reason using the computer means you have to sound retarded

I accepted the e- prefix because it designates a thing as being one and not the other; it is value based (stands for something: electronic) and logical. Electronic- or, for short, email, etrade, ebook, ecommerce. (By now the hyphen is superfluous.) Then came along abbreviations or phonetics of commonplace phrases. By the way (btw), for your information (fyi), estimated time of arrival (eta), see you (cu), because (bc), your/you're (ur), what the fuck?! (wtf).

won't even let the Britishy hashtag cross my lips. For the record, it's a pound sign

But when it comes to the ridiculous I draw the line. I see no reason why using the computer means you have to sound retarded. Imagine a mentally retarded person and a normally or moderately intelligent person saying the following, and tell me which one sounds befitting coming out of which mouth:

• LOL
• selfie
• rolf (as in guffawing)
• hashtag
• normie (because writing ie is easier than al?)

When I need to express laughter in print I use haha or sometimes simply ha!; I still 'take pictures'; and I won't even let the Britishy hashtag cross my lips. For the record, it's a pound sign. 

I'm sure there are more but I try my best to avoid the desperate slang. I can't help it. 
I like to read - and write! - books.