diary of a gen z student: why i'm not bothered about using capital letters in my texts

jane cowan: when i was thirteen, i just turned off automatic capitalisation on my phone. and I never looked back.

so, a few months ago i was nearly crucified by certain readers of the irish examiner for a column i wrote about how gen z doesn’t tend to use punctuation in our texts. in fact, the use of a full stop or an ellipsis in the wrong context can send me into a spiral. because it’s just not what we do. 

a text from a friend that says ‘Hello.’ is likely to induce heart palpitations in someone of my vintage. at the time, i described the uncomfortable formality of perfectly punctuated sentences. why would i text a friend like i’m writing a contract? it’s just not necessary. 

sure, i may have raised the blood pressure of some over 30s, but it was for their own good. it’s my civic duty as the irish examiner’s resident young person to keep the wider population up to date on the goings-on of our youth.

what I didn’t go into at the time, was the other issue with that text, the capital letter. at the time, i had considered writing about this texting faux pas. but the reaction to my no full stops column made me think that gen x just weren’t ready. 

now though, it’s 2025. trump is president again, he’s playing footsies with conor mcgregor on st. patrick’s day, hell bent on dismantling dei, halting immigration, and forcing the poor to get poorer. What I’m saying is, things don’t look like they could get a lot worse. so, i might as well throw my hat in the ring and tell people that gen z aren’t exactly bothered when it comes to capitalisation in their texts.

you may be thinking that it seems like more effort to write only in lowercase. it’s not really. when i was thirteen, i just turned off automatic capitalisation on my phone. and i never looked back. i have a few issues when it comes to capital letters in texting. it's formal. 

it’s archaic. it’s borderline passive aggressive. like, if you have a problem with me, you can just say it. i’m a big girl, i would prefer if you could be direct with me. there’s no need to leave me wondering what we’re arguing about.

I can feel it already. the eyes rolling, the existential dread for future generations. the world will be doomed if this lot can’t get off their arse and use a capital letter. but maybe it’s not such a bad thing. think of it like this, do our great writers let themselves be burdened by literary convention? 

joyce didn’t learn to say ‘hoopsa boyaboy hoopsa’ in school. and charlotte perkins gilman hardly describes something that everyone can relate to in 'the yellow wallpaper'. if writing is supposed to reflect something of ourselves, maybe we can ditch the formality when it doesn’t match up to what we’re trying to say. i'm not saying every lowercase text to the girls is my ulysses, but i’m just trying to have a bit of a gossip. and perfect punctuation isn’t complimenting the vibe.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

before everyone starts to panic, you need not worry about our levels of literacy. chat-gpt has got us covered in that department. honestly, i can’t remember the last time I wrote something with a pen and paper. why would I need to know how to structure anything when I can get chat-gpt to write any email i’ll ever need to send? 

it can sort out those minor details of punctuation and grammar in my essays for college. it can summarise novels for me as well, so no need to worry about reading either. really what’s not to love? surely, this is what ubiquitous technology tends towards. why would i say no to the resources i have at my disposal?

i hear it - your teeth grinding and your temperature rising. but in my defence, i didn’t come up with this system. i’m just passing on the message. if you’ve recently texted your gen z child and not received a response, you might be to blame. it’s your fault for spooking them with all of your perfect punctuation and grammar. 

i don’t mean to point fingers, i’m just trying to help you out. you should probably learn to speak in gen z’s mother tongue: the internet. and if you still find yourself irritated by this, may i point you towards the speech made by mcgregor in the white house on st. patrick’s day? 

you should channel your outrage into something that deserves it. and i can think of nothing more deserving than mcgregor claiming to represent the people of ireland on st. patrick’s day. we can only hope he doesn't make it back through airport security.