A new study revealed the most “emotionally triggering” text message you could receive, and the result has gone viral on social media.
It’s not uncommon to use shorter versions of words when texting, and abbreviations are some of the most popular ways to communicate with others in text.
Some responses can be interpreted the wrong way, however, and one study has found which word “emotionally triggers” those who receive it the most.
Among the options were responses like “sure” or simply being left on read, but one single letter beat out every option in the study: K
A single letter triggers people the most
According to the 2023 study published in the Journal of Mobile Communication, receiving just the single letter “K” as a response is the “most negatively received response in digital conversations.”
Their findings discovered that the single letter response “conveys emotional distance, passive-aggressiveness, or disinterest.”
News of the emotionally triggering word quickly made its way to social media, prompting hundreds of users to share their thoughts about it.
Some were surprised that the shorthand form of “Okay” would trigger people. One user replied: “It’s just shorthand, what are they going on about, calm down.”
“I never understood why people would just text ‘K’ or ‘Kk’,” a second commented.
Many users shared other words that bothered them in text messages as well, and even said that receiving just a simple thumbs up emoji triggered them.
“‘mhm’ is far worse,” one user commented.
Another said: “No. ‘Got a second to chat?’ from your boss is the most triggering.”
This isn’t the first study that’s gone viral across social media, either. Back in 2024, one revealed how much money you spend every minute you’re inside of a Costco. A few months later, another shared that many users are suffering from “stream fatigue” as movie and tv show streaming services continue to lose subscribers.
Content shared from www.dexerto.com.