22-Year-Old's Texting Guide for His Parents Is Going Viral: We've Been Using Exclamation Points All Wrong
Texting your parents can feel like stepping into a linguistic funhouse. A single period may carry the weight of judgment; a message like “Are you alone?” followed by radio silence instantly turns your phone into a panic generator; and emojis — oh, the emojis — arrive like cryptic hieroglyphs whose meanings are equal parts affectionate and bewildering.
It’s a master class in generational miscommunication, delivered one notification at a time.
Recently, Jason Saperstone, a 22-year-old publicist in New York City, decided he’d had enough and made a PowerPoint on texting etiquette for his parents, Nancy and Pete, who live in Boston.
“They text with such good intentions,” Saperstone tells TODAY.com, “but I don’t think they really get all the features. Gen Z has made it tricky for them. We’ve basically created our own language that only we fully understand.”
His first lesson, which is going viral on Instagram, focused on the fine art of reacting to a message with an exclamation point.
“Mom and Dad, I love you, but you need to get better at texting,” he began the video. “So the thing we’re going to be working on today is how to use the emphasis.”
According to Saperstone, emphasizing is appropriate in three circumstances:
- When you agree with the sender.
- When you find yourself in the same situation.
- When someone is ignoring you and you want their attention.
Saperstone provides an example: Not long ago, he texted Nancy that he was at a bar with Alex Cooper, the host of the “Call Her Daddy,” podcast, and she emphasized the message — when, according to him, she should have simply used the “thumbs up” reaction.
“Because I was excited for you!” Nancy said, laughing from behind the camera as she explained her reaction. Saperstone appreciated her enthusiasm but explained that the “like” button was the correct choice in this situation, since it didn’t carry any of the three additional implications.
The lesson clearly struck a chord, even catching the attention of Reese Witherspoon, who commented, “Gosh, I have been doing all of this incorrectly for a WHILE.”
Other comments include:
- “I thought emphasize was the equivalent of saying ‘omg.’”
- “I needed this a long time ago. Apple should include this when you buy a phone.”
- “Ok this is the content my elder millennial self needed. Following for more! I need a whole series for how to text with GenZ. You’re doing great work out here.”
- “A thumbs up honestly is worse. It feels indifferent and like you’re inconveniencing them with your text.”
However, plenty of people came to Nancy’s defense, arguing that she was simply excited. As one commenter noted, “It means WOW in mom text rules.”
If Saperstone gives a follow-up lessons, he’ll have plenty to cover — starting with emojis.
“The skull emoji? That means laughing so hard you died,” Saperstone tells TODAY. “And then there are the dirty ones… we don’t even need to get into that.”
Yes, we’re looking at you, eggplant.
