The Verdict: K? K.

By Avery Slavin

Editorial Staff

By Andrea Zereski

Staff Writer

As of recent years, the development of internet slang has conditioned us to look at abbreviations differently. 

“LOL!” has turned into “lol,” and the enthusiasm we used to see when texting in the past is gone, portraying a negative tone through the screen.

First, we should analyze the recent implementation of lowercase letters.

Many have lost the appeal of proper sentence structure and capitalization. 

There is a setting on most phones that allows you to turn off auto-capitalization, which we saw a lot in 2019-2020 when people really started caring about their online aesthetics. 

The lowercase letters and the lack of punctuation give the impression of nonchalance and disinterest. 

For example: the difference between “Sure!” and “sure”. 

The exclamation point indicates the vibe of the entire message, while the lowercase letters leave the mood up to interpretation. 

For a generation that overthinks everything, it’s ironic that we’re putting ourselves in the prime position to not only overthink other peoples’ tones, but make others overthink ours. 

An almost universal word that has many different variations is “okay”. A simple enough word that surely can’t have a negative connotation, right? Wrong.

The most common version of the phrase that irks people is “K”: a seemingly innocent letter that actually holds a lot of uncertainty. 

When we receive that response, it gives us the impression that they just couldn’t be bothered to spell out the word, or that they hate us. 

We are a fan of saying “kk”, because when we feel the need to drop the O, we think we should replace it with something that automatically makes it seem a little more light-hearted. 

“KK!” just seems a lot sweeter than just “OK” or “K”. 

And don’t even get us started on adding a period after the letter “K.” There is no situation where you would be saying “K” with a period and be typing it with a smile on your face. 

“K.” 

That is so menacing! 

We have gotten so used to no punctuation that when it is used, it gives a bad vibe. 

We are not looking down on punctuation, of course. This doesn’t apply to someone who uses it correctly.

But, since our generation doesn’t care to use punctuation (and can’t use it properly, in most cases), it jumps out at us when it’s used randomly over text. 

You can’t be bothered to spell out “okay”, but you take the time to add a period? 

Right.

We think we need to bring back speaking in complete sentences over the phone. 

We’ve witnessed many occurrences where arguments have taken place because of an assumed tone over messages.

Both of our mothers are repeat offenders of using “K”, and we both have expressed our dislike of that letter to them. 

You raised us and you can’t even spell out the word? 

We have actually gotten into our own quibbles about this exact issue. 

To us and others around us at least, using “K” is a huge no, but sometimes, we slip up and use it in a pinch. 

However, we will follow it up with an emoji or an exclamation point in hopes of no hostility being detected. 

We think that people need to be more conscious about their texting. We have remembered every single time someone has hit us with a “K.” 

And we hold grudges. 

Our verdict: just spell it out and be grateful you don’t have to handwrite letters anymore. Use your technology wisely and kindly!