IRL is a short way of writing in real life. People use it in emails, texts, and on social media when they want a clear line between the screen and the actual world. A game, a show, a chat, a profile — that is online. IRL is the body, the room, the street. “We should meet IRL” means meet as people in a place, not only as names on a phone. “She is quieter IRL” means the person behind the account feels different when you sit with them. It is casual. You would not put it in a school essay or a formal letter; you would write the three words out. Online, people often leave it in capital letters. In speech, most people just say “in real life,” though some still say the three letters.