Abbreviations in online communication have a negative impact.

Many individuals in electronic communication opt for various abbreviations instead of fully writing out words to save time and expedite interactions. In English, for instance, phrases like how are you? can be shortened to hru?, thank you to thnx, or I don’t know to idk.

This practice is also observed in Russia, where Russian and English abbreviations are combined. For example, "спс" stands for "спасибо" (thank you), "нра" means "нравится" (like), "плз" (please) translates to "пожалуйста," and "имхо" (in my humble opinion) is used for "по моему скромному мнению," and so forth.

However, a team of marketing and psychology experts from Stanford University and the University of Toronto conducted a series of experiments that demonstrated that such abbreviations can create an impression of insincerity. This may negatively affect communication and interpersonal perception, the authors warned in an article published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.

Over five thousand individuals participated in the study examining the impact of abbreviations in electronic correspondence. The research included surveys, laboratory experiments, and natural experiments. Participants evaluated their impressions of messages with abbreviated words versus those without. Additionally, the researchers analyzed user correspondence in the messaging app Discord and in the dating service online dating Tinder.

The findings revealed that messages containing abbreviations received less frequent responses, and replies were shorter compared to when words were fully typed out. Although younger participants typically used abbreviations more actively, the negative effect was also observed among them. However, the authors noted that this trend was not always evident.

"Abbreviations created the impression of lesser sincerity, and recipients were less likely to respond to such messages. This effect arises because abbreviations indicate a lower level of effort on the sender's part," the researchers explained. Understanding this may be beneficial when individuals wish to appear more sincere and strengthen social connections, for example, at the beginning of relationships or when trying to make a good impression.

Nevertheless, the results of the study should be interpreted with caution, as various limitations may have influenced them. Specifically, the research was conducted among an adult English-speaking audience, and trends may differ in other countries and cultures. Furthermore, the scientists focused on the effect of abbreviations in short exchanges between two participants and did not consider long, repeated conversations or group messaging. Not all experiments accounted for the level of acquaintance among individuals.

A number of external psychologists expressed skepticism regarding the conclusions drawn. In a comment to The Guardian, Professor Linda Kaye from Edge Hill University (UK) stated that in real life, interlocutors are likely familiar with each other and communicate considering a broader context, meaning that the impression from messages is influenced by a much richer set of factors.

This sentiment was echoed by psychologist Christopher Hand from the University of Glasgow. He added that, in addition to the personal relationships between participants in electronic correspondence, factors such as urgency or the desire to replace an obscene expression with an abbreviation can affect its nature and the use of abbreviations.