This is a fascinating feature of online writing to me. The existence of a space between words was intentionally created to give pause between words to aid in the interpretability of the written language. The culture of online communities took a functional piece of script and adapted it to convey emotion and sensation based on placement. Another common example of this would be the adaptation of the pound sign (#) as a hashtag.

Something interesting to note with this is how rapidly unique online “languages” can form. In the spoken languages, different countries and even regions adopt small modifications to even shared languages (I.e. howdy vs hello). From my perspective, the internet and online communication has caused this process to escalate significantly. Now, each small circle of friends often adopts a unique communication style to some degree. For example, within my family, we verbally say “okay” as a response, but when typing to one another, “okok” is how it is said. No one I have talked to outside of our little group uses “okok” as a replacement to mean “okay”, but they may have similar alterations within their own groups. I just find it interesting the way that online communication has catalyzed the specialization of each language.

While I do understand this perception, in my personal experience, the use of proper grammar and punctuation during online communication is less about respect and civility and more about familiarity and comfort. When speaking to someone that I do not know, I am more inclined to send a single message typed semi-formally, similarly to how I would compose a class email. Alternately when I am speaking to close friends and family, I feel much more comfortable and commonly use slang, abbreviations, misspelled words, emojis, and even double (or triple) text notoriously. I respect my friends and family the same way that I would a stranger, but am much more confident and comfortable in the ways that I express myself to them.

I agree that people have different online communication habits and shortcuts based on their generation and when they first gained access to online communities. While this is true, no matter the generation I believe that we are heavily influenced by those around us and how they tend to interact in online communities. For example, my family and I have frequent online communication, and while my mom (40s) used to type ‘LOL’ she has now began to adapt the online writing habits that my siblings and I use to communicate with her, such as saying ‘haha’ or ‘lol’ or ‘lmao’ to express humor.