The internet has revolutionized many of the ways that humans engage with each other. From new avenues of sharing creative endeavors to broader access to knowledge than at any other point in humanity’s history, the interconnected nature of modern living has changed the social landscape faster than anyone ever expected. However, humans are adaptable creatures, and it has not taken long for them to develop entirely new ways of communicating authentically—and remotely—even when body language is no longer present.
A person’s typographical tone of voice arises from their unique usage of many small but essential written cues. Let’s explore how people have adapted their way of writing online to express non-verbal cues and deepen the conversation.
The Power of Punctuation
Proper grammar dictates that sentences end with a period, commas delineate clauses, and much more. However, even in individuals to whom proper grammar comes second nature, their typographical tone of voice may be riddled with “errors”—which are not mistakes when used as non-verbal cues.
Take, for instance, the period. In texting or social media conversations, a period transforms from a simple means of ending an utterance to an expressive element. When a person has the option to end their thought by pressing “send,” there is no need for a period.
Consider, then, how the inclusion of a period changes the tone given this context. A recipient asking their friend to do a favor for them would likely interpret the following three utterances significantly differently:
Ok
Ok!
Ok.
The original “Ok” with no punctuation is standard neutral in most people’s typographical tone of voice. As with more formal writing, “Ok!” conveys enthusiasm, but “Ok.” with the deliberate inclusion of the period adds intentional severity or seriousness. In an online format such as texting in which “Ok” would already be encapsulated in its own text box as a singular utterance, the period is not necessary—which makes readers perceive its inclusion as a harder stop, and thus a more serious or even unhappy approach.
Bricolage: Using What Is at Hand
The term “bricolage” refers to building something from the pieces at hand, and this principle underscores how people craft their typographical voices. In digital formats, the elements at hand include capitalization, the letters themselves, emoticons, spaces, and even foreign characters. Each of these can be used to convey greater nuance and even replace body language equivalents. For example:
- Placing extra space between letters arose from popular culture in the early 2010s as people tried to differentiate their textual presence. As a result, saying “B E A U T I F U L” rather than “beautiful” can now be interpreted as more flourished, as of a person raising their hands to embellish the word when speaking.
- Extending a word (e.g., “wowwww” instead of “wow”) now conveys a sense of sarcasm, mimicking the increased length of the utterance when spoken aloud in person. The same occurs wHeN pEoPlE wRiTe In AlTeRnAtInG cApS in imitation of the fluctuating voice tone associated with sarcasm.
- Writing in ALL CAPS comes across as shouting.
- Using Zalgo text (that is, letters that have been intentionally modified) can create a sense of horror or the unknown, as in T̴̨̙̦̲̻̝̳̘̓̏̓͆͊͆̉͌̅̉̕͝ͅh̷̹̔̽̃͋͝͝į̴̭͓͖͓̱̳̹͍̉͑͛̾̃͆̀̈́̃̌̈́̈́̚s̵͕̮̗̫̞̱͉͖͈̾͜͠ ̵̤̞͌͂̔̍́̈́̈́͗̉̔̋̎̀̊͊e̵̢̨̹̲͎̣̯̮͎̞̱͙͌͆͌̿͜ͅx̷̼͖̞͆͜ͅǎ̷̛̗̯̪̲͍͎̆̃́̽̉͗͋́̍̈́́̃̃m̸̟̼̝͔̳̃͂̿̌͗́͂͆̒̀̕͘͝ṕ̷̧͙̹̲̝͖͉̀͆͊̌̄̾l̷̨̢̘̲̭̣̱̳̹͉͇͖͇̂̆͐ͅe̵̺̱̭͈͇̩̾͌̒̐̇̆͛̀̐͋̓̍̎̎͒͜ [this example].
- Utilizing foreign lettering mimics tonal inflections or intentional mispronunciations common in in-person interactions, such as the famous Brøther, may I have the lööps meme.
These are just a few of many potential examples, as both people’s sensibilities and the types of content to which they have access continually change.
Spacing, Length, and Format
In addition to the words themselves, people may use text boxes and other forms of visual orientation to portion their conversations or thoughts into segments in the same way they may use breath support as a form of body language.
When a person
speaks in small
short bursts
each separated into its own text box
This can be interpreted as excitement in the same manner that someone in person may be eagerly interjecting quick thoughts into a conversation. Similarly,
When a person
spaces their text with multiple line breaks in the same message
Readers may interpret the line breaks in the same manner as a single, suspense-filled breath. Utilizing not just the words but the forms of those words helps people to encapsulate their body language and mannerisms into their typographical tone of voice.
The Impact: A Case Study in Dating
Thanks to the pervasiveness of online communication in modern times, most people have developed at least some form of typographical voicing of their own. Thus, as with physical interactions, people have also developed preferences and peeves related to how others “speak” to them in a text format.
Hinge, one of the largest dating app platforms, conducted a survey of users, revealing that 77% of daters on the app consider a person’s “digital body language” when choosing a match. This can include overuse of trite phrases, failure to consistently apply the above-mentioned rules for sarcasm and tone of voice (e.g., punctuation), and more.
Just as an in-person meeting would quickly become uncomfortable for most if their date unpredictably vacillated between shouting, whispering, and stopping entirely in the middle of a sentence, online dating considers a person’s typographical tone of voice as a measure of their character and personality. In this way, now more than ever, what you write is far more than just the words you choose.
