If You Text Like This, Study Says People Probably Think You Don’t Really Care About Them
Researchers found that people are less likely to put in effort to their responses if they receive a certain kind of text from others.
Smiljana Aleksic from Getty Images Signature | Canva According to a study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, researchers found that if you text using abbreviations, it could be a detriment to your social life. A team of researchers led by David Fang of Stanford University conducted a series of eight studies involving more than 5,000 participants to truly break down the relationship some people have with each other just based on how they text.
In the digital era we're living in, most people communicate with their friends, family members, and even work colleagues through texting or messaging on social media apps. It's certainly much more common than actual phone conversations. Unfortunately, context is often lost when it comes to text, and that can make your message get muddled.
If you text using abbreviations, people probably think you don't really care about them.
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According to the research, using abbreviations when texting is perceived as less sincere and makes you less likely to receive a response. This is because abbreviated messages are seen as requiring less effort, according to Fang and his research team. Using abbreviations might save you some time, but those shortened texts might not be well-received by the people you're sending them to.
Fang and his team of researchers considered two competing possibilities: abbreviations could be seen as casual and informal, potentially making people feel closer, or they could be interpreted as a lack of investment in the conversation, harming the connection.
To determine the answer, participants viewed hypothetical text message conversations. Some participants saw conversations where one person used full sentences, while others saw the same conversations but with common abbreviations.
Those who read the abbreviated texts rated the sender as being 'less sincere.'
Participants also reported being less likely to text back to abbreviated texts compared to those who read the fully written messages. The findings showed that this difference was explained by the perception of effort; participants felt the person using abbreviations was not trying as hard in the conversation.
When actually responding to messages where abbreviations were used, participants wrote shorter replies and reported putting less effort into their own messages. Compared to messages where full text was used, participants had a higher motivation to respond.
"Our research reveals that texting abbreviations negatively affect interpersonal communication by decreasing perceived effort, which in turn leads to lower perceived sincerity and responsiveness. Ultimately, our findings underscore the importance of considering the impact of evolving language use in the digital era on the quality and nature of interpersonal communication," Fang and his team concluded.
Most people actually tend to crave face-to-face interaction.
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Texting might be more popular than actually picking up the phone and talking, but at the end of the day, the best way to communicate is still face-to-face talking. According to a poll conducted by SurveyMonkey and Axios, nearly half of American adults prefer in-person communication over other options, including text messages, emails, and social media.
In the wake of a loneliness epidemic and people hungering for more companionship in their lives, it's not surprising that deeper connections have become more valuable. You simply can't get the same engagement over texts that you can face-to-face, even if you write novel-length texts.
While texting can be convenient and using abbreviations doesn't necessarily mean that people don't care to talk to you, it seems people are just looking for a little more effort when it comes to their relationships. At the end of the day, as long as we're making an intentional effort to show up for the people that we care about, whether it's through texting, calling, or scheduling time to meet up, we're doing the right thing.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
