Smiley frog texting

A new study undertaken at Binghamton University in New York suggests that using periods at the end of text messages isn’t only unnecessary, it’s insincere, unfriendly and even heartless. We’ve known for some time that texting doesn’t require proper punctuation or spelling if the meaning is clear. Who wants to type out “talk to you later” or so many other phrases when “TTYL” and the myriad of other texting acronyms will do? But a period as a sign of aggression? That’s something new. Perhaps the period typist is seen as giving his or her texting partner short shrift, even though that’s unlikely the intent in most cases.

Interestingly, exclamation points were not given the same stigma as periods in a follow-up to the study. On the contrary, they were viewed as being quite helpful. Maybe that’s because, in a text-only environment, it is otherwise difficult to convey emotion, which is of course why emoticons are so popular.

It’s clear that texting is a language unto itself. But we shouldn’t mistake the loose convenience of texting for acceptable writing in other media. Articles, blog posts, business presentations, organization and outreach communications, academic papers, legal and official submissions, job applications and many other writings still need to be correct if you want to make the best impression and achieve your desired result. That’s where sharp editors and communications consultants come in. Contact us if you need to hire one!

Photo by Kevin Dooley, used under Creative Commons license. http://is.gd/h0mtnf