“Thx”? No, thanks.
These days, text conversations can look like we’re writing in code. But researchers have found that these shortcuts, considered quick and efficient to some, can weaken relationships rather than simplify them.
They wanted to explore whether the shortened words undermine genuine dialogue and the “unspoken signals” behind them, the authors explained in the Independent.
In a survey of 150 American texters aged 18 to 65, 90.1% said that they used abbreviations regularly in their daily texts, while 84.2% believed that the abbreviations either made a positive impact on how the recipient perceived the message or that it had no meaningful impact at all.
However, findings suggest that simply including a text abbreviation can make the recipient feel as though you’re brushing them off.
If the person texting shortens their words down to just the consonants, those on the receiving end see a lack of effort being put in and will disengage from the conversation.
In controlled lab tests, the researchers presented 1,170 participants aged 15 to 80 with one of two nearly identical text messages: one sprinkled with abbreviations and the other completely spelled out.
Participants found the sender with abbreviated texts to be less sincere and less worthy of a reply in every single scenario.
“It’s a subtle but pervasive phenomenon that most people don’t intuit,” the authors said.
The pattern stayed true whether the texts were about something as simple as weekend plans or as serious as major life events — and it wasn’t only with strangers.
They also tested whether the closeness of a relationship — such as a close friend or a romantic partner — changed the dynamic, but even those who thought of themselves conversing with a longtime friend reported feeling “a little put off” by shortened words.
“That sense of disappointment chipped away at how authentic the interaction felt,” the researchers noted.
The researchers also tried the theory on Discord to see if real people on a real platform behaved similarly to the study participants — especially since Discord is full of younger audiences that tend to use more abbreviations.
After messaging random users for recommendations on TV shows to watch — one set of messages fully spelled out and the other filled with abbreviations — they discovered that fewer people responded to the ask with abbreviations.
While the research suggests that a handful of scattered abbreviations won’t end a friendship or a relationship, it’s the overall reliance on these shortened words and abbreviations that diminishes the sincerity of the message received.
This isn’t the first time a study revealed that texting with abbreviations can make you seem insincere.
A November 2024 study concluded that if you want to sound more honest and receive more responses to the texts you send, you should spell out words rather than abbreviate them.
Read the full article here
