Texting, Punctuation & Sex
The secret to a better love life:
use emojis, not periods
Did you know that people who send texts with proper punctuation are seen as less trustworthy than people who don’t bother to end their texts with proper punctuation? In a 2016 study at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York, researchers found that ending a text with a period was thought to be less sincere than just ending a text with no punctuation. Researchers theorized that because text messages were informal and had a chatty kind of feeling to them, a period may have seemed too stuffy. To those of us who are professional writers, or just strict grammarians, ending a sentence without punctuation seems unprofessional, or sloppy or uncaring about the importance of proper communication. Yet the study was scientifically valid, and I have had to force myself to send my texts without ending punctuation (hah! no period at the end of that sentence…)
So there are two important questions: 1) when to use texting and 2) how to write texts so as to properly communicate.
The answers to those questions are rapidly evolving, and there are some fascinating studies being done on texting in addition to the one from Birmingham University about punctuation. For example, did you know that people who use more emogi have more sex and get more dates? According to a study of 5,327 single American adults conducted by members of The Kinsey Institute in Indiana University and the Department of Psychology in Lake Forest College in Chicago, published in 2019, emoji give messages more color and personality, and make it easier to express feelings. The authors of the study wrote that “emoji use with potential partners is associated with maintaining connection beyond the first date, and more romantic and sexual interactions over the previous year.”
What is really funny and interesting to me is that if you go on Amazon and do a search for books on text messaging, ninety-nine percent of the results are for relationship-based titles such as “How To Text A Girl, or “Texts So Good He can’t Ignore.” There is an old adage in the ad biz that says sex sells. I guess the modern extension of that would be texts sell. So learn to sell yourself in texts using emojis and no punctuation and your love life will flourish, if modern science is any guide. 😎
I hope you like Moist Ink. We’re happy to provide the information free as a public service. A lot of time, energy, software, hardware and more is needed to bring you Moist Ink on a regular basis. If you find this knowledge valuable, please donate so we can keep bringing you quality content. Every little bit helps. Thank you! — Charles Carlson