The New Rules of Texting... According to Science

When it comes to terminating a sentence, two extra dots is the difference between “I’ll be back” and “Hasta la vista, baby”.

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While the Grammar Nazi in you knows that the full stop is the right way to end a sentence, the Text Goddess in you also knows that one tiny dot can convey a depth of emotion… and it ain’t good. Just consider the gentler-sounding “no” or “no…” versus a flat-out “no.” While you may have subconsciously known the difference all along, researchers from Binghamton University in New York have definitively concluded that, when used in text messages, the innocent-seeming full stop can make the message seem fake or insincere.

Researchers described this as a form of “non-verbal signaling” that we use in text messaging, which highlights how sensitive we are to subtle cues in our communication, even when it doesn’t happen face to face. Now, if only it were as easy to interpret sarcasm over text…