What Women Think Of Men Who Text Emojis To Communicate

"Men save time by using abbreviations. I use that time to judge them."

By Amanda Chatel — Written on Feb 13, 2017

Photo: weheartit

I once dated a guy who had a thing for not just texting but emailing in nothing but acronyms and such absurd jargon that, as a writer, I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did — a whole month and a half. The last straw finally came one night when he sent me a text that said "C U L8R."

I stared at it for easily 10 minutes, completely clueless as to what the "L8R" part was supposed to translate to, but when it became clear, I knew it was time to say goodbye.

As someone who's pretty obsessive about people spelling out full words even in text messages, I wondered if I was alone. So, I asked the ladies their thoughts on dating a guy who uses text lingo, acronyms, texting emojis, and all that jazz in emails and texts.

Is it OK if he emails or texts you "C U L8R," or responds to funny things with "LOL," "LMAO," or the rest of that malarkey? Is it utter laziness, disrespectful to the English language, a horrible assault on all the senses, or totally A-OK? Here's what they had to say.

"LOL" is forgivable, but that's the only one.

Giphy

"Other than 'LOL' here and there, I hate text lingo! Love emojis, though!" — Steph, 25

"We have Qwerty keyboards now. If he can't text a sentence because he has an old school flip phone, then I'm already suspicious — not sure I'd expect him to last long enough to worry about receiving a ‘UR cute, CU L8R’ message. He could send me a winking emoji, though. I'd think that was cute." — Jen, 36

"'LOL' contains the soul of brevity. 'LMAO' is childish." — Tracy, 37

No, never, no way, nope.

Giphy

"I hate it when anyone texts or emails in those stupid acronyms and abbreviations. I'm all for full sentences and proper punctuation, even in texts!" — Lauren, 33

"Men save time by using abbreviations. I use that time to judge them." — Jennifer, 27

"While I embrace the fact that language is constantly evolving, I find eloquence and a good vocabulary hot. So, from a random person or friend, text lingo doesn't bother me. But if I were interested in someone, even 'LOL' would turn me off." — Tanya, 37

Then there are the exceptions, especially when it comes to emojis.

Giphy

"I can handle some abbreviations. Emoticons are fine and convey real stuff if used sparingly. LOL, IRL, FTR, IMHO are fine. 'C U L8R' would bug the ever-living crap out of me. I have never dated someone that felt the need to severely abbreviate everything, so I’m not sure how I would handle it. I did, however, once stop following a former work buddy on Facebook because she seemed to ONLY speak in abbreviations here, of all places, where your characters aren't limited. I couldn't handle it." — Becky, 30

"I'm not a fan of text lingo. It makes me think you're acting like a girly teenager. Texting emojis are OK when used thoughtfully (like when Tim Gunn on Project Runway says, 'Use the Aldo accessory wall thoughtfully!' Too many and you're an annoying pubescent teenybopper. On the other hand, texting with my husband, we have our own lingo and made-up words. This I'm cool with because it makes me laugh." — Jill, 31