Dear Katherine,
It’s been two months since I’ve started seeing my current boyfriend. I am very happy — he’s kind and considerate, he has a great sense of humor and he’s interesting. There is just one little, bitty thing that irritates me: he uses acronyms and abbreviations while texting. You know the ones: “lol,” “2,” “u,” even “g2g!” Sometimes, it gets so out of control I consider never texting him back ever again. I recognize it’s an insignificant problem considering the bigger picture, but for someone who takes pride in correct grammar, it sometimes makes me feel like I’m texting a middle school boy. Should I say something?
Sincerely,
2 Annoyed 2 Txt
Dear 2 Annoyed 2 Txt,
First, let me start off by saying this: I get you. I once started seeing a guy who used abbreviations and the dreaded “lol” — sometimes multiple times in one message. Every time I would see a text from him, my skin would crawl, afraid of what I might find lurking in his message, and when the text did prove less than appealing, his attractiveness level dropped by a few levels. Seriously. We’re past the era of MSN messenger, Hollister and MySpace, so why aren’t we past the era of “laughing out loud”?
Anyway, the answer is yes, say something. Sure, you could hold it in and it may — emphasis on the may — pass, but chances are, it won’t. And, do you really want to be celebrating your 10-year anniversary, receive a text from him along the lines of “2 in lve w u!” and suddenly blow up because you held this one little, bitty thing in for so long? No. It doesn’t have to be a big ordeal. You’re not going to break up with him over the fact, you would just appreciate it if he texted you a bit more … maturely. It may seem like a silly subject to bring up, but if it really irritates you, just bring it up in a very non-confrontational, non-attacking kind of way, and most importantly, laugh about it. Laugh about the whole stressful situation. Doesn’t it seem like an episode from Seinfeld?
ROFL!!
Sincerely,
Katherine
 
Email the Emerald’s sex and relationships features reporter with similar issues at [email protected].