A recent study has revealed that text messages with full stops (or periods) tend to be less sincere. Text messages like "I love you.", "lol.", "Lets go now." are examples of messages that do not contain genuine emotion.

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According to the research from Binghamton University, how a person (sender) punctuates a text message greatly affects how its receiver perceives it. The research was lead by Celia Klin, an associate professor of psychology and associate dean at Binghamton University's harpur College.

The team gathered 126 undergrads and asked them to read a chain of interactions either text messages or handwritten notes. The sender's messages contained a statement and an invitation (ex. Dave gave me his extra tickets. Wanna come?), while the receiver's response was a single word (Yeah, Sure, Yup).

The participants were made to assess two versions of the exchanges: the receiver's response ended with a period and the other with no punctuation at all. Based on the reactions of the participants, the researchers concluded that the messages which ended with a period tend to show less sincerity than messages which ended with no period.

The study only proves that people find context in messages - even in small details. Klin said that when speaking, people express their social and emotional information through facial expressions, gestures, tone of voice, etc. Therefore, in text messaging, people depend on only what is available, like emoticons, stickers, and punctuation.

Interestingly, the researchers also concluded that text messages which end with an exclamation mark are believed to be more sincere. Phrases or sentences like "lmao!", "I miss you!", and "I'm coming now!" apparently express more sincerity.

Punctuations are indeed important in conveying information, but it seems their use in language is quickly evolving.

The current research also shows that human behaviors can be studied and can be predicted. Eventually, people can know the reasons behind certain actions.

TagsMobile Phones, emotions, communication, Telecom, Text Messages Full Stop Sincerity, Text Messages Sincerity