Teens today claim that you have to have a pager if you're going to have a social life. Parents everywhere are sighing as pagers start beeping at dinner and on family outings -- but what they don't appreciate is the complicated language of pager codes that young people have developed to allow them to communicate. Lyn Duff is on the staff of YO! (Youth Outlook), a publication by and about young people produced by Pacific News Service.

There once was a time when having a pager meant you were probably a doctor. Next came a period when carrying one could get a teenager accused of being a drug dealer. Today, 20 percent of teens have pagers, which they use to communicate with friends as well as parents and employers.

Having appropriated yet another medium, teenagers are now in the process of transforming it, using pagers to transmit much more than phone numbers. The uninitiated may be mystified by the numeric codes that flash across many young people's pagers, but walk down any urban street or through any suburban mall and you'll find plenty of teens who know what you mean when you say "13-222-55." Here are some clues to the new secret language of teens:

0000000 Cheer; ohhhhh.

0001000 I'm really really lonely right now.

007 I've got a secret.

020202 I'm thinking of you.

080808 Kisses and hugs.

081 The force is with you.

1 You're the man.

10 You're perfect.

11 You're perfecter.

13 I'm having a bad day.

1-8 I ate.

101 I've got an easy question.

10-4 Is everything okay?

121 I need to talk to you alone.

141 I'm with you.

180 I love you.

360 I love you back

187 I'm gonna kill you; I'm gonna kill someone.

10-20 Where are you?

10-2-1 That's a possiblity; there's a chance.

1040 You owe me big time.

1492 Let's go sailing; let's go to Jack London Square/Pier 39.

1701 Live long and prosper.

1776 You're revolting.

100-2-1 The odds are against you; that's not very likely.

13579 This is odd; this is really weird.

10000001 Miss you.

11111111 Congratulations!

-2 Suffix for "me too" or "I second that."

21 Let's go get a drink.

2-2 Let's dance; let's go dancing.

222 Pick me up after school.

2-365 For two years.

2001 You're way out there

2468 You're so terrific; you're so great; I'm proud of you.

24-7 Forever.

30 This is getting old; this is so tired.

4 Let's play golf; let's go to the park.

411 I have a question; I need some information.

5 Hi.

5-0 Let's go to the beach; the waves are huge today.

55 Let's cruise; let's go; get a move on.

50-50 It doesn't matter to me, what do you want to do?

54321 I am so angry; I'm ready to explode.

66 Let's hit the road.

666 He's weird; he's freaky; he's a creep.

747 Let's fly.

86 You're finished.

87 I'm late; you're late; we're late.

8642 I gonna get even with you.

9-5 It's quitting time; I just got off work.

911 It's an emergency; call me right now.

90210 S/he's a snob; I can't believe you hang out with them.