With the technological revolution we’ve experienced in the last 10 years, the way we communicate has completely changed. With new suggestions that phone calls and face-to-face communications are being increasingly phased out in favour of sending a quick text, the etiquette of how to approach conversations in a small amount of written characters is still very much a new Wild West. With 42% of all adults claiming, however, that texting is their favourite form of communication (and that figure rising to 50% among 16-24s), it’s never been more important that we grasp some ground rules before we alienate our friends, neighbours and bosses faster than you can type ‘NVM’.

Fortunately, Carphone Warehouse has surveyed Brits across the country to reveal our biggest texting pet peeves, and put together some advice on how to avoid them. Read on for some quick and simple tips to boost your charisma in this new age of digital conversation!

• 1. Always speak when you’re spoken to

Texting makes it much harder to work out when to leave a conversation – with no evidence of the phone hanging up or the other person walking away, we could potentially find ourselves in threads that last for days – or even weeks. With all that uncertainty coupled with our increasingly busy lives, it’s understandable that we may sometimes just decide to quit replying. Indeed, 9 in 10 Brits have admitted that they’ve done this in the past.

Sadly, this could be doing a disservice to our relationships with 42% of Brits claiming that being left ‘on read’ is their biggest pet peeve when it comes to ‘text-iquette’. So, how to balance the often repetitive text conversations while ensuring your loved ones (almost half of the UK, in fact) still feel valued? Think back to more traditional forms of communication and do the digital version of ‘walking away’; include your goodbyes in your last text, let the other person know you’re moving on to another task or simply type a cheery ‘get back to you later’ in order to politely extract yourself from a conversation loop – friendship intact.

Just remember, if you do say you’ll respond to a friend ‘later’ – make sure you don’t forget! 35% of Brits said that having a text message go unanswered for 24-hours or more was annoying, so opt for a firmer goodbye if you don’t want the added pressure of having to get back to them.

• 2. Keep LOLs to a minimum

When talking in a limited number of characters, it’s often hard to resist the appeal of shorthand – whether it’s just a ‘did you see what she did?!?! LOL!’ or a full ‘NVM BRB TTYL <3’, 65% of Brits surveyed admitted to using ‘text-speak’ to better communicate their point. But is it having the desired effect?

A whopping 33% of respondents claimed that any use of abbreviations is annoying, making it the UK’s second biggest pet peeve when it comes to chatting via text, with older generations finding it the biggest headache of all. Whether that’s down to having to frantically Google seemingly unrelated characters to understand a friend’s latest missive, or just a general rage at abridged English, there’s a few simple rules to follow to ensure nobody ends up with a bad taste in their mouth:

• Consider whether your abbreviations actually save you time or add impact to the conversation. If it’s as easy to say ‘bye’ as ‘TTYL’, perhaps opt for the former!
• Restrict yourself to one instance of ‘text speak’ per message. A simple ‘LOL’ is probably acceptable to most people, but a missive composed entirely of acronyms might appear more incomprehensible or trying.
• Always ensure you’re using abbreviations in an appropriate context. The odd instance is probably fine with your best friend, but your boss is a different matter. Also ensure the person you’re speaking to knows what your chosen acronyms mean and, if you can’t find out for sure, make an educated guess. The less time your Gran has to spend scratching her head when reading your messages, the better for everyone!
• If in doubt, don’t do it! We all know and understand the original long-form words, so it’s a safer bet to take a deep breath and just ready your thumbs for the extra characters.

• 3. Steer clear of ‘K’

When we discussed text responses earlier, we obviously left out one very important aspect – namely, what to do when you get one of those messages that doesn’t seem to need a response. 71% of Brits have admitted to responding to texts with just ‘K’ or ‘lol’, but we’ve also all felt the sinking feeling when we pour all our efforts into crafting the perfect message, just to get an off-hand response.

Unsurprisingly, one-word responses such as ‘K’ or ‘lol’ were voted the third most annoying texting habit, with 30% of the UK firmly against them. So, how to make time for longer responses in our increasingly time-poor lives? Instead of firing off quick responses to the messages you receive, try to take time to really read them and offer a meaningful response, rather than grappling for a one-letter response and then moving on with your to-do list.

If this isn’t possible, try changing your standard responses to something that’s wordier. ‘K’ can be substituted for ‘that’s fine, thanks’ while ‘lol’ can be expanded to ‘haha, that’s funny!’ While neither are long responses, you can save standard messages to your phone if you really don’t want to type a longer missive repeatedly.

So, there you have it – a complete guide to avoiding the UK’s most hated texting habits and improving your digital charms! Always respond (or make it clear when you’re saying goodbye), dial down the abbreviations and steer clear from one-word responses. If you’d like to know more about the UK’s attitudes to texting before you pick up your phone again, you can check out the whole study here: https://www.carphonewarehouse.com/networks/rules-to-texting.html.