Readers might respond with TBH IDGAF or even LOL GTFO, but the team said they research on the matter was extensive and they only came to their conclusions after conducting eight experiments with over 5,300 people. — Image by freepik
WASHINGTON: The American Psychological Association has published research telling phone texters to write words properly if they want to come across as honest and worth replying to.
People who text abbreviations "were perceived as more insincere," according to researchers from Stanford University and the University of Toronto, giving the TL;DR version of their paper.
Readers might respond with TBH IDGAF or even LOL GTFO, but the team said they research on the matter was extensive and they only came to their conclusions after conducting eight experiments with over 5,300 people.
FWIW, the tests took in Discord group chats and conversation histories spanning 37 countries on the dating app Tinder.
"We thought texters might like abbreviations because it would convey an informal sense of closeness, so we were surprised that abbreviations elicited negative perceptions about people who use them," said David Fang, a doctoral student at Stanford.
In a particularly WTF finding, researchers reported that participants' views on abbreviations appeared confused or even incoherent, since young people "tend to use more texting abbreviations" than others but nonetheless are not "fans" of them.
The experiments showed texters who used abbreviations were also perceived as lazy, so were sent shorter and fewer responses and were less likely to receive other contact information than people who could and did use words.
In their paper, which was carried in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, an APA – sorry, American Psychological Association – publication, the team warned that overusing abbreviations could lead to loneliness and even fray "social bonds." – dpa/Tribune News Service
