Are You Sending the Wrong Message? The Hidden Impact of Texting Habits
In the digital age, how we communicate has become just as important as what we communicate. A recent study from Binghamton University revealed that something as simple as adding periods between words or sending one-word texts can drastically change how your messages are received. Researchers found that these habits can inadvertently make you sound more intense or emotional than you intended. This discovery sheds light on the subtle ways punctuation and formatting influence perception in digital communication.
The study, published in Frontiers in Psychology, explored the concept of “textisms,” which include irregular punctuation, deliberate misspellings, and other stylistic choices people use when texting. According to Celia Klin, a psychology professor and lead author of the study, textisms are often used to compensate for the lack of multimodal cues like tone of voice and gestures that are present in spoken language. For example, adding periods between words in a sentence can signal deliberate emphasis, while sending individual words in separate text bubbles can amplify the intensity of a message. These small details, while seemingly insignificant, can profoundly impact how recipients interpret your emotions.
To investigate this phenomenon, researchers asked a group of undergraduate students to review fake text messages that either included unnecessary periods or were split into multiple, one-word texts. The participants were then asked to rate how disgusted or frustrated the sender seemed based on the messages. The results were striking: texts with unnecessary punctuation or those broken into individual words were perceived as more emotionally intense. This suggests that recipients assume textisms are deliberate choices meant to convey a specific meaning or emotion. Essentially, the effort someone puts into formatting their texts is interpreted as “emotion work,” signaling to the reader that the sender is intentionally expressing stronger feelings.
The study builds on previous research by Klin, who had earlier found that including periods in texts could make the sender appear insincere. This time, the focus was on how such habits alter the perceived intensity of emotions. Klin explained that adding periods between words or splitting sentences into separate texts forces the recipient to work harder to understand the message. This extra effort is then interpreted as a deliberate attempt to emphasize or intensify the emotions being conveyed. In a world where brevity and efficiency are often valued, the time and effort someone puts into crafting a text can have unintended consequences.
Interestingly, the findings align with a broader trend among Gen Z, who have largely abandoned traditional punctuation in casual texts. For many younger people, using periods at the end of sentences or in unnecessary places can come across as overly formal, angry, or even passive-aggressive. This shift has become so pronounced that some individuals now reserve proper grammar and punctuation for situations where they’re upset or mad. For instance, journalist Victoria Turk noted in her digital etiquette book, Kill Reply All, that periods in messages can feel emphatic or even cross. According to Turk, “Only old people or troubled souls put periods at the end of every sentence” in texts, as it’s often seen as unnecessary and overly intense.
The implications of this study go beyond just texting habits. They highlight the evolving nature of digital communication and the importance of being mindful of how we express ourselves online. While textisms can be a powerful tool for conveying emotion, they can also lead to misunderstandings if misinterpreted. As we continue to navigate the complexities of digital communication, understanding these subtle cues can help us avoid accidentally sending the wrong message. Whether you’re a fan of periods or a proponent of punctuation-free texting, one thing is clear: the way you write can significantly influence how others perceive your words. By being more intentional with our texting habits, we can ensure that our messages are interpreted as they were intended—without unintentionally dialing up the emotional intensity.
