POV

What Does POV Mean in a Text?

POV means "Point of View." It is often seen on social media (especially TikTok) as #pov. There are two main ways that #POV is used:

POV = In My Opinion

In comment sections, discussion boards, and in general text-based chat, POV means "this is my point of view" or "in my opinion." In this context, it is essentially a caveat to reduce the number of comments from haters. It highlights the right of the poster to say what they feel, even if it might offend some. For example:

Meat is murder! #POV.
Lettuce lives matter too! #POV.

Here is a real example. TikTok user Alyssa McKay (@alyssamckayyy) received over five million likes for her video "wear your masks." Her video was a satirical observation of how rich girls partied during the Coronavirus pandemic. The introduction of her video carried the #pov caveat, letting viewers know that this was simply her opinion. In essence, her POV meant "I am entitled to my opinion, and here it is." It was included for its connotation of "I'm not telling you what to think. I am simply expressing what I think." This use of POV is designed to disarm dissenters who might otherwise contest a poster's observation. Most dissenters know that they cannot contest someone's right to express an opinion.

POV = What Is Seen From the Perspective of the Camera or Main Protagonist

In this context, POV is usually used as an adjective (e.g., POV camera). It describes either a first-person perspective (the view of the narrator) or a third-person perspective (the view of the main character)¹. It is particularly common in sports broadcasting. For example, during sports matches (such as football, hockey, soccer, etc.), the POV camera shows the game from the perspective of a particular player. In Formula 1 motor racing, viewers can see the race from a driver's dashboard camera, which gives a third-person POV experience.

First Person or Third Person POV? With a driver's dashboard camera, if the driver were also the race commentator, the camera view would be a first-person POV. However, as is the norm, the commentator is track side. This means the camera shot is a third-person POV. The third-person POV aspect is also used in the film industry, when a scene is filmed so the viewer experiences events through the eyes a certain character. This is often mistakenly called the first-person perspective, but it is only the first-person perspective if the person through whose "eyes" you are seeing events is also the narrator. The porn industry is one sector of the film industry that does use first-person POV cameras.

Video Summarizing POV

Here's a short video explaining how POV is used:

Image for POV

When I write POV, I mean this:

#POV is a particularly popular tag on TikTok.

Summary of Key Points

"Point of View" is the most common definition for POV, especially on TikTok, but also on Snapchat, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

POV
Definition:	Point of View (1) Perspective of First-Person or Camera. (2) In My Opinion.
Type:	Abbreviation & Acronym
Guessability:	2: Quite easy to guess
Typical Users:	Adults and Teenagers

An Academic Look at POV

POV can be classified as both an initialism abbreviation (because it is pronounced using its individual letters, i.e., "Pee Oh Vee") and an acronym (because it can be spoken like a word).

Example of POV Used in a Text

POV

This page is maintained by the Cyber Definitions Editorial Team.

Parker Yamasaki, August 2022 Grammarly, What Is Point of View in Writing?, <https://www.grammarly.com/blog/point-of-view/>.

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POV