Does Ending a Text with a Period Make You a Cold, Unfeeling Garbage Person? According to a new study, the punctuation mark is considered to be insincere.

By Nina Zipkin

Death to the Stock Photo

We all know it's a slippery slope when you -- on your own or with a little help from your friends -- start parsing texts for hidden meaning. Not only is it tough to gauge tone through text, you can ascribe all sorts of nuance to emojis too. But it turns out that one of the most offending things you can send via text message is perhaps the most unlikely of them all – the unassuming period.

A study conducted by Celia Klin, an associate professor of psychology and associate dean at Binghamton University, which was recently published in Computers in Human Behavior, found that subjects perceived a message to be more insincere when a period was used.

Related: 4 Communication Habits That Will Make You and Others Feel Good

Klin and her research team asked 126 undergrads -- 91 women and 35 men -- at the college to look at the same conversations as both text conversations and handwritten notes. Sixteen of the exchanges were questions and the reply was one word -- "Okay," "Sure," "Yeah" or "Yup."

The students were given two different responses, one that ended with a period and one without. They were then asked to rank the response's sincerity. The text message replies that ended with a period were rated as less sincere than the ones that did not. However, that wasn't the case when the message was written out.

Related: The 10 Communication Skills Every Entrepreneur Must Master

In a statement from the university, the professor noted that short of being able to read body language and inflection like you would in an IRL conversation, it seems that punctuation and well-placed emoji's are the best we've got to understand nuance when it comes to texting.

"Punctuation is used and understood by texters to convey emotions and other social and pragmatic information," Klin says. "It's not surprising that as texting evolves, people are finding ways to convey the same types of information."

Nina Zipkin

Entrepreneur Staff

Staff Writer. Covers leadership, media, technology and culture.

Nina Zipkin is a staff writer at Entrepreneur.com. She frequently covers leadership, media, tech, startups, culture and workplace trends.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Career

What Is 'Task Masking'? Young Workers Retaliate Against Return-to-Office Mandates With a Viral Strategy.

Many professionals value the flexibility of remote work — and they're not reacting well to forced in-office returns.

Growing a Business

Entrepreneurs Should Invest in Service, Not Just Sales — Here's How to Build a Customer-First Business

A customer-first business strategy that prioritizes exceptional service, empowers employees and leverages feedback can transform satisfied customers into loyal advocates, driving sustainable, long-term growth.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Side Hustle

This 30-Year-Old's $6,000-a-Month Side Hustle Started Making Money 'Immediately' — But He's Not Quitting His Day Job

Derrick Mathy works in orthopedic surgical device sales and is on a mission to bring people together in real life.

Business News

UnitedHealthcare Offers Employees Voluntary Buyouts to Meet 'Evolving Needs'

The health insurance giant could resort to layoffs if it doesn't meet resignation quotas with buyouts.