New and Changing Social Evaluations of All-lowercase and Exclamation Points

This study examines the social evaluations of two variables---all lowercase (compared to standard capitalization) and exclamation point usage (!, !! or none)---in Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC). We present the results of a matched guise experiment investigating social perceptions of various combinations of these two variables when used in SMS text messages. Results reveal a range of social meanings associated with both features. All lowercase is associated with a younger, trendier, more online texter, as predicted based on previous literature, and is also evaluated as more feminine and queer, novel social meanings that are further supported by participants' open-ended judgments of all lower-case. The open-ended responses reveal more nuanced associations of lowercase, specifically indexing a stance of trying hard to appear like you're not trying hard or carefully-calibrated casualness. Exclamation points reveal an incremental evaluative pattern, such that 1 exclamation point is judged as more extroverted, image-oriented, laidback, queer, and feminine than no exclamation points, and evaluations are strengthened for 2 exclamation points. Additionally, 2 exclamation points are seen as particularly trendy and tech-savvy, unlike a single exclamation point. We find limited evidence for significant interactions between all-lowercase, exclamation point usage, and perceived texter gender, but we do observe a general trend for ratings to be stronger, especially for lowercase, among younger participants. We interpret these results as indicating emerging and changing social meanings of all lowercase and exclamation point usage.