What Does 'Slide Into Your DMs Like…' Mean?

You know those direct messages from strangers or near-strangers? Yeah, those...

By
Elise Moreau
Elise Moreau
Elise Moreau
Freelance Contributor
  • University of Ontario
  • George Brown College
Elise Moreau is a writer that has covered social media, texting, messaging, and streaming for Lifewire. Her work has appeared on Techvibes, SlashGear, Lifehack and others.
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Updated on September 30, 2020
Reviewed by
Ryan Perian
Ryan Perian headshot
Reviewed by Ryan Perian
  • Western Governors University
Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12+ years' experience working in the IT industry support and management positions.
lifewire's editorial guidelines

Slide into DMs or Sliding into DMs are slang expressions people use in online or text messaging when someone overly confident sends a private message that isn't always welcome.

What Are DMs?

DMs means direct messages. On some social media platforms, like X (formerly Twitter), you have a tab that lets you privately message any other user who follows you (or those you don't follow who have their DM settings open to everyone). Most people refer to it as a DM for short.

An illustration depicting a text message that uses the term 'slide into ur dms.'
Lifewire / Nusha Ashjaee 

What It Means When Someone Says ‘Slide Into Your DMs Like…’

Since you can have an open conversation with anyone on social media by replying to a message or putting @username in front of your the message, DMs are often used for conversations that you and the other user would rather keep just between the two of you. The expression "slide into your DMs" implies that it takes someone who's very smooth and bold to privately message a stranger or acquaintance online.

In many cases, it's an expression often said to represent the way an overly confident or even flirtatious user might contact someone they're interested in. "Slide into your DMs like..." is sometimes accompanied by something visual—a photo or video to convey the right action or feeling.

Popular ‘Slide Into DMs’ Hashtags on X

X users are tweeting with variations of the "slide into DMs" expression.

The expression seems to be particularly popular for being a video platform that people can use to film their own interpretations of what "sliding" really means to them—however slick, ungraceful, or hilarious that may be. The great thing about trends like these is that they're so open-ended, inspired social content creators can get really creative and use them to apply to almost anything. And that only adds to the virality!

Check out the following hashtag links to see what people are tweeting about this trend.

On X:

You can also find hashtags similar to the ones above being used on both Instagram and Tumblr.

The 'Slide In Yo DMs Like...' YouTube Comedy Sketch and Song

Popular YouTuber Tpindell made a short comedy sketch and music parody called "Slide In Yo DMs Like..." to offer a pretty accurate representation of how one might use the expression in a certain situation, along with several clips that break out into song and various "sliding" styles.

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