Punctuation in texting: Is it important? Although in some instances punctuation is important, in texting, not so much.

When texting a family member or a friend, how often does one think about the punctuation that they are using? For many people, the answer is probably not often or never.

Texting is supposed to set up a casual environment for people to communicate, and by adding in the pressures of using proper punctuation,  it takes that entire feeling away.

If the responses make sense and are clear, then punctuation doesn’t really have an important role in creating that communication.

Some may argue that punctuation helps to add emotion to a text, but it seems pretty unnecessary when we have emoticons that serve a single purpose of expressing our emotions through pictures. Adding punctuation to text messages also can send mixed messages.

For example, when someone sends a text with a period at the end, this may cause the receiver to think that person is angry and being short with them.

Although adding a period to the end of ‘Thanks’ seems like it wouldn’t do much, it can change the interpretation of the word completely, from a simple thank you to a friend, to an insincere and sarcastic thank you.

Also, when texting there is no need to write an English essay. All that one needs to do is type out the words that need to be said and send it. It really should be as simple as that.

Texting was made so a person can make quick and easy communication, and by adding in the worries of using punctuation it overcomplicates the process, so it’s best to just not have it at all.