LOL – BRB! (Or will you?)
Sending abbreviations in text messages is second nature to many people, with abbreviations for “laugh out loud” or “get right back” among many that are exchanged.
But these instinctive responses can make you seem insincere, a new study has found.
The research, published by the American Psychological Association in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, concluded that if you want to sound more sincere and get more responses to your texts, you should spell the words instead of cut them down.
“In everyday interactions, we often encounter people who can be considered good or poor texters,” lead researcher David Fang, a doctoral student in behavioral marketing at Stanford University, said in a press release.
“We thought that messengers might like abbreviations because they would convey an informal sense of closeness,” he wrote, “so we were surprised that abbreviations elicited negative perceptions of people who use them.
Since texting is a primary form of communication for most people, using abbreviations is often done without thinking – and people likely don’t realize that it comes with consequences.
In the study, which conducted eight experiments with more than 5,300 participants, individuals who used abbreviations in texts were seen as more insincere and less likely to receive answers, as they were observed to put in less effort.
A preliminary study conducted by researchers found that 99% of respondents reported using text abbreviations and 84% did not believe that others would dislike abbreviations.
The experiments included analysis of responses from Discord group chat users, dating scenarios and chat histories of Tinder users in 37 countries. The experiments also involved participants rating their texts with people who did or did not use abbreviations in the texts.
Senders who used abbreviations received less and less short replies and were less likely to receive contact information from the person they were sending.
Surprisingly, while younger generations tend to use text shortcuts more, they still weren’t happy to receive them – although the findings were inconsistent in some of the studies.
“While our overall results for age were mixed, it is clear that young people do not particularly like abbreviations, although the strength of this aversion may vary by age,” Fang said.
Fang also noted that texting shortcuts can contribute to loneliness as people may find that their social connection with a person weakens over time as they receive less frequent or positive responses to text messages.
Despite the findings, Fang doesn’t think people should completely stop using abbreviations in exchanges.
“We often adjust the effort we put into conversations to match the importance of the relationship. In some cases, it makes sense to invest less effort and agree to be perceived as less sincere, such as quickly texting a delivery driver, Fang said.
“However, our findings are particularly relevant when we want to appear more sincere and strengthen social bonds, such as at the beginning of a relationship or when we need to make a good impression.”
Some of the more popular messaging shortcuts include:
- lol: Laugh out loud
- BRB: Be right back
- OMG: Oh my God
- idk: I don’t know
- FYI: For your information
- IMO: In my opinion
- JK: Just kidding
- ASAP: As soon as possible
- ILY: i love you
- ICYMI: In case you missed it
- SMH: Shaking his head
- ROFL: Rolls on the floor laughing
- TMI: Lots of information
- TBH: To be honest
- WBU/WBY: What about you?
- IR: In real life
- ISTG: I swear to God
- YOLO: You only live once
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