This just in from a study of 3,000 Twitter users, as summarized by the New York Times' Jennifer A. Kingson:
Older people also “have a higher usage of links and hashtags, which can be associated with information sharing and impression management.”
And yes, teenagers and millennials do conform to some of their stereotypes. On Twitter, “younger persons talk more about themselves and use more chat language such as haha, XD,” the researchers wrote, “while older people use more conventional words indicating support or wishing well (e.g. wish, enjoy, thanks, take care).”
This is the moment where a certain portion of the audience will freeze in terror. XD? What is XD? Am I old now?
For those of you over 30: XD is a synonym for LOL; it represents a laughing face shown sideways. (I had to look it up.)
A recent study of one Cut blogger and one New York Times writer suggests a 100 percent rate of bewilderment at the revelation that all the kids are tweeting "XD" these days. In the future, when all interaction occurs online and nobody meets in person, beauty gurus will stop talking about Crème de la Mer and retinol, and start training us in the proper use of emoticons. The secret to everlasting youth is a cutting-edge understanding of LOL.
Read more posts by Maureen O'Connor
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