Gaurav Rathore
His write-ups blend creativity, personal experience, and tailored technical advice, meeting reader needs effectively.
Have you ever heard your child talking about OC?
No, I’m not talking about the viral teen drama, but the internet lingo that is becoming hot among avid fanfiction readers (teens) and online communities.
If you haven’t heard of this phrase, there is no need to fret, as I’ve compiled everything you need to know about OC in this blog post: what it means, its origins, how kids use it, and whether parents need to pay heed to this phrase. So, let’s get going!
“What does OC mean?” – @melodykashi on X
Quick Answer:
OC stands for ‘Original Content’ and ‘Original Character’ and is often used in fanfiction and social media posts. Apart from that, it also means On Camera, Open Crib, and Out of Control in various contexts.
OC stands for both ‘original character’ and ‘original content.’ It is often used in online gaming forums and on social media platforms. Let’s take a look at these two terms in detail!
An original character, often known as a fictional character, is created by an author and can be fictional or based on a real-life person.
These authors are not professionals but fans of fictional works who solely depend on their imagination or source media to expand the original story.
Not only that, these characters are not limited to only works of literature but often take the form of portraits, drawings, and character designs.
Original content is often used on social media platforms to claim ownership of original works, showing that it is not copied from anywhere. This phrase is often used to appreciate the creator’s innovation and artistry.
In online communities, people use this tag to flag their posts as original and prevent future plagiarism. For example, people might tag their memes as OCs to show their creativity.
As OC has different meanings on the internet, it is quite hard to track down its roots and find where it originated from.
In Urban Dictionary, the ‘Original Content’ term was first coined in 2009, and the ‘Original Character’ term was seen in 2008 to highlight the role of fanfiction and role-playing.
Although there is no evidence to trace their roots, it is guaranteed that these terms came into existence because of the rising popularity of social media platforms like Reddit and Twitter in recent years.
Apart from original content and original characters, there are many other definitions of this abbreviation prevalent on the internet. So, let’s take a look!
The first on the list is Out of Control. It is used to call out someone or something that is uncontrollable.
For example:
That thing is OC now; let’s forget about it.
Next is Open Crib. Kids use it to tell their friends that their parents aren’t home and their house is open for a party.
For example:
Hey guys, Neil has an OC this weekend. Is anyone interested in joining us in the fun?
In some contexts, it also means On Camera. The senders often use this to notify others that they are currently on camera doing a live stream.
For example:
Sorry, girl, I’m OC. I will get back to you in a while.
As I’ve mentioned earlier, the OC meaning can be identified solely based on the context in which it is being used. Hence, I’ve brought some examples of how kids might use it in conversations and how you can do the same!
OC: Original Content
OC: Original Character
Using OC in conversations is pretty harmless, so the parents can rest assured.
However, the sites and social media platforms where kids use this acronym are often unmoderated and unmonitored. Not only that, some of these sites are not even kid-friendly and, might pose some serious risks to your child.
Thus, to track if your child is being subjected to any morally gray activities on these sites, I recommend you install a parental control app or child-tracking app on your kid’s smartphone.
OC is a popular acronym that kids often use to inspire creativity and let the world appreciate their artistic skills. Thus, it would be safe to assume that this slang won’t harm your kids.
However, the media this slang involves can be risky for little kids, and thus, parents must remain cautious of their child’s online activities.
OC stands for both ‘original content’ and ‘original character’, typically written in uppercase in text conversations.
OC means original content on various social media platforms and online communities.
An OC is an Original Character. It is a term used in fan fiction to address a made-up character that isn’t a part of the show the fan fiction is based on.
