Internet words for Alias — memes, social media, streams

Likes, memes, stories and a stream until three in the morning. Words from life inside your phone.

A set about the place we spend half the day: social networks and messengers, memes and challenges, streams, subscriptions and comments under other people’s posts. From an emoji to a deepfake. No platform or creator names — they change every season, the words stay.

Who this set is for

Anyone who has ever liked a post clears the first level. Then come clickbait, hater and spoiler: everyone has seen them, but explaining them without the word itself takes some effort. The hard level — deepfake, monetisation, doomscrolling — is for those who know why the feed shows them exactly that.

Who this set is for

A group where phones lie on the table screen up. Teenagers are often stronger than their parents here: they explain streamer and donation in a second, while the adults win back points on email and password. It plays best with mixed generations — every level has its own trump cards.

Meme

Works: “a funny picture with a caption that everyone forwards to each other.” Through what people do with it. Does not work: “a unit of internet culture” — accurate but dry, and the room says joke, trend and gif before it gets to the picture.

Clickbait

Works: “the headline that says you won’t believe what happened next, and then nothing happens.” An example everyone has met. Does not work: “a manipulative headline” — the room heads for fake, advert and spam and loses half the round.

Deepfake

Works: “a video where a famous person has someone else’s face and says things they never said.” Does not work: “a forgery made with AI” — fake and filter both fit, and the room stops at the first one.

Where groups go wrong

The first trap is platform names: “it’s like on that app” feels like the shortest route, but half the room uses a different one and goes quiet. The second is compound words. Screenshot, clickbait, livestream and username are built from two parts, and every part is off limits, so describe what the whole thing does instead of taking it apart. The third is going technical: “a ranking algorithm” helps nobody, while “the thing that decides which video you see next” does.

Explain through a thumb movement: "you scroll and scroll and cannot stop" is the feed.
Compound words are a trap: do not split screenshot into screen and shot — describe what it does.
Instead of naming a platform, say what people do there: "short videos to music" says more than a logo.

Easy

Familiar words that land on the first clue. For warming up, for kids and for mixed groups.

internet, website, page, search, browser, password, login, account, profile, avatar, photo, video, selfie, like, comment, follower, blogger, post, story, stream, meme, emoji, sticker, chat, message, group, channel, music, song, game, gamer, phone, laptop, tablet, screen, keyboard, mouse, wifi, charger, headphones, microphone, camera, filter, advert, spam, virus, hacker, email, link, button, download, file, picture, kitten, trend, challenge, dance, prank, joke, news, robot, smartphone, app, update, settings, screenshot, online, offline, cart, delivery, order, review, star, fan, idol, views, episode, upload, share, subscribe, click, scroll, swipe, tap, inbox, username, nickname, web, funny, notification, battery, folder, tab, typing, unfollow, smiley, gif, friend, wallpaper, ringtone

Medium

Takes a few sentences and some imagination. The default setting for an ordinary evening.

hashtag, viral, algorithm, feed, repost, donation, streamer, influencer, content, creator, moderator, admin, ban, trolling, troll, hater, fake, clickbait, spoiler, podcast, playlist, streaming, buffering, incognito, cookie, captcha, phishing, scammer, cloud, torrent, piracy, licence, premium, block, report, newsletter, digest, forum, thread, anonymous, handle, celebrity, webinar, freelance, lifehack, tutorial, unboxing, flashmob, petition, messenger, attachment, draft, archive, trash, status, pinned, bookmark, domain, hosting, server, query, homepage, broadcast, editing, tripod, bug, glitch, lag, vlog, reaction, caption, mention, tag, upvote, karma, wiki, noob, giveaway, merch, collab, livestream, binge, rating, subscriber, spammer, emoticon, refresh, reboot, mute, verified, discount, voucher, courier, screensaver, registration, marketplace, chatroom, webcam, autocorrect, typo

Hard

Rare or abstract words. More failed rounds, and more laughing at them.

cyberbullying, disinformation, moderation, censorship, anonymity, privacy, confidentiality, encryption, authentication, verification, personalisation, targeting, monetisation, conversion, engagement, analytics, metric, chatbot, deepfake, botnet, doomscrolling, procrastination, addiction, detox, metaverse, cryptocurrency, blockchain, token, protocol, bandwidth, latency, ping, cache, tracking, geolocation, crowdfunding, crowdsourcing, ambassador, integration, affiliate, referral, netiquette, cybercrime, fraud, breach, leak, backup, recovery, identity, reputation, hype, subculture, fandom, fanfiction, cosplay, speedrun, gameplay, microtransaction, gamification, patch, beta, emulator, recommendation, copyright, plagiarism, authorship, blocker, shadowban, paywall, firewall, proxy, malware, ransomware, dopamine, outrage, parasocial, catfish, ghosting, metadata, decentralisation, open-source, timestamp, impression, lurker, esports, digitalisation, storytelling, virality, attention, overshare, sponsorship, cancellation, misinformation, virtual, marketing, relevance, ranking, two-factor, doxxing, astroturfing