Why Gen Z Ends Texts With Emojis, 'lol,' and 'haha' (and Thinks Your Period Is Rude).

For many Gen Z texters, a period signals anger, and emojis, 'lol,' and 'haha' act as tone softeners. Older colleagues often read the same messages very differently. Neither side is wrong, but the gap causes real misunderstandings at work.

How does Gen Z interpret that period in your text message?

Almost a year ago, I shared my discovery of a definite generational divide in one of the simplest and most common actions: texting. Specifically, I had learned from my students that Gen Z found the act of ending a text with a period to be harsh, the equivalent of "we need to talk".  I followed up with an informal poll of X Gen Z professionals and university students, and their input confirmed this eye-opening discovery.

Younger colleagues shared that they interpreted that tiny bit of punctuation as awkward and a sign of hostility, the equivalent of wearing a suit to a picnic. Colleagues my age and older see a period in a text as a sign of professionalism, and most often don't even notice it. While it seemed like a small thing at first (literally, there is not much smaller than a period), the more I looked into it, the less small it became. 

Think of how many text messages you send and read a day. Imagine how often your tone or intent might be misinterpreted, or, if you are on the younger end of the age spectrum, how often you might be unnecessarily stressed by innocent punctuation with no ill intent.  Within work teams, wires are getting crossed, potentially dozens of times a day. If we are mixing signals on that, what else are we misinterpreting?

While this discovery was new to me (and has been to thousands of people at my keynotes and workshops since), this phenomenon appeared in 2016, when the journal Computers in Human Behavior found that texts ending with a period were perceived as less sincere.

After that blog post, the local newspaper, news stations, and even CNN picked up my scoop as part of their "What Generation Do You Text Like?" quiz. I've shared the example with audiences worldwide as a simple yet fascinating example of how easily generations can think they see the same things. Instead, we are viewing them through a very different lens of perspective and experience. 

How the period discovery has changed behaviors

The periods in texting are by far my stickiest example, my favorite discussion, and the thing I still get stopped to talk about in hallways and receive messages about several times a month ("I asked my interns about this and they confirmed that everyone thinks I'm scary based on how I text"). Better yet, these conversations have resulted in actual behavioral change. One client shared that he now sends voice memos instead of written texts, so there's no question about his tone. Others have shared that they now try to adjust their texting style based on their audience. Even if you don't decide to change your texting habits, the increased awareness and open dialogue that a simple action from us could be perceived in an entirely unintended way by someone with a different generational context can be incredibly valuable.

Hot take: periods are harsh, but emojis are unprofessional

Now it's time for a follow-up, a sequel of sorts to the period saga. While older generations unknowingly evoke fear with their period usage, Gen Z has voraciously adopted emojis, lol, and hahaha to finish their sentences lol. While I am willing to embrace a generation's unique norms, I must admit this confounds me. But then again, I have that period to end my sentences, so I understand that not using it requires something to take its place.

Not everyone in my age group or older is willing to accept this approach. Several young professionals (former students of mine, mostly older Gen Zs) have shared that their bosses have given them feedback that laughing-crying emojis and hahahas are "excessive" and "unprofessional" in work texts. (Sidenote: my blog doesn't support emojis, which puts me at a severe disadvantage here, lol).

This came as just as much of a surprise to my Gen Z colleagues as it did to me when I learned my period usage was being seen as "harsh". How could someone take offense at an innocent smiley face, they wondered?  I understood their manager's feedback; I feel like I'm being sent cartoons. There, I said it. I had to learn more, for the sake of Gentelligence®!

To do so, I embraced our Gentelligence® Practice #2: Adjust the Lens.  Time to get curious, not judgmental.

Why all the emojis?

To have smarter intergenerational conversations, we need to start with better questions. One of my favorite power questions to Adjust the Lens is "Can you help me understand?", so we started with that.

Me: Can you help me understand why Gen Z tends to end sentences with emojis and hahaha? Why are we lol'ing after things that aren't particularly funny?

The Gen Zs of Instagram gave me the following insights:

•  "I feel like it's because it adds a filler/light-heartedness"
• "I feel like it's often hard to interpret tone in a text and ending it lighthearted makes sure the person you are texting knows you are not mad. And now it's become the norm and if you don't end a text like that people will assume you are mad"
• "Fear of coming off the wrong way"
• "I usually add “haha” to make sure something doesn’t come across as angry or mean. I feel like it adds a positive emotion!"
• "I use lol or hahaha like I'd use exclamation points in work emails and stuff to show I'm not mad or upset. It softens whatever I'm saying even if it's not something hard"
• Instead of using the most common end punctuation (. ! ?), we’re able to evoke more complex emotion/tone through additional punctuation we’ve adopted
• "To soften the message and be relatable/casual. It expresses that it’s a more personal rather than serious or personal message. But I think some people do it when they’re uncomfortable or unsure of what they’re texting. It just softens the message all around and hopefully makes it easier to receive"

Fascinating. Reading between the lines, it's almost like an overcorrection for our period usage. That comes across as harsh and cranky, and Gen Zs are doing all they can to make sure their messages don't come off the wrong way. When in doubt, add an emoji! No one can be upset with me if I add a little hahaha!

This might seem silly to you if you're my age or older (hey Gen X!), but let's use some Gentelligence® and think about why the younger generation might feel the need to do this. If you grew up amid cancel culture and relying on texting, you too might err on the side of making sure your messages aren't landing wrong.

As if this hot take isn't ENOUGH KNOWLEDGE for one post, please enjoy what I unexpectedly learned next.

Remember in my original Instagram post, I asked why Gen Z tends to end their texts with an emoji, hahaha, or an LOL.

Then I received this IG message from my colleague Jacob, who I am pretty sure is a Millennial (but probably on the cusp of Gen Z, if I had to guess):

"Are they ending sentences with 'lol' or 'LOL'? Because I see both differently.. the latter I’ve always seen from older generations"

WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?

I, of course, had to investigate this. In for a penny, in for a pound, people. Gen Z delivered:

• yeah but idk how to articulate how they are different but they are
• True!!
• Very true. LOL feels like you’re making fun of something, or could be laughing very hard depends on context. lol just an add on. Somehow neither is the default for just normally finding something funny hahaha
• Gen Z tends to say lol. LOL makes me think of millennials or older

My 5-minute long, not remotely scientific data collection reveals that there is not widespread agreement on this LOL and lol usage, other than they definitely are different. Then this interesting millennial-Gen Z rift emerged:

• Apparently the younger GenZ associate the laughing crying emoji with millennials...borrowing one of their slang words from a few years ago, the laughing crying emoji is “cheugy”

(CRIPES, need to go look up chuegy now).

Note: I get asked every few months if I'd consider leaving academia to do Gentelligence® full time. Quite clearly, this misses the critical point that they are not mutually exclusive: I can be much more Gentelligent because I work with this fantastic network of younger people I've met over my 20 years as a professor. I learn from them while they are my students, and then I keep learning from them once they enter the workplace, lol hahaha.

How should we handle generational differences in texting behavior in the workplace?

Gentelligence takeaway #1: Treat generations like cultures.

Think of generations as a unique kind of culture; when communicating with people in other cultures, we are more aware of the likelihood of miscommunication and misunderstanding. We expect differences, so we slow down, ask questions, and give the benefit of the doubt. Bring that same mindset to a text from a colleague 20 years older or younger than you. Try not to infer too much from a period, an emoji, or a "lol. It's a norm that person learned in their own communication culture. When in doubt, follow up for clarification.

Gentelligence® takeaway #2: Check your intent when you send, and assume good intent when you receive.

Communication styles differ across generations. When messaging someone much older or younger than yourself, be aware that they may interpret your message differently than intended, regardless of whether you end with a period or an emoji. The awareness runs both ways. If a text from a colleague reads as curt or overly casual, ask yourself whether that was the intent or just their style. When tone really matters, such as feedback, bad news, or any situation where the stakes are high, don't rely on a text message. Pick up the phone or talk face to face.

Gentelligence® takeaway #3: Start the conversation.

No one is saying you have to stop with the emojis or the grammatically correct punctuation; you do you--but I challenge you to start this conversation with people you text regularly across generations.

But I challenge you to start this conversation with people you text regularly across generations. Try:

• "I heard something today and want to get your take: is it true you'd take a text message that ends with a period as aggressive?"
• "If someone you worked with texted you using emojis, would you think that was unprofessional? What if they're just trying to keep things lighthearted?"

For managers, take it one step further. Raise the question with your team and agree on a few shared norms for Slack, Teams, and text. A five-minute conversation now can prevent many misread messages later.

There's not one best way to communicate across generations. But we need to open up the conversation to see what we're missing.