I prefer writing in all lowercases–especially devoid of conventional capitalizations of the first letters. First learnt this in Ariana Grande’s Sweetener album tracks’ all-lowercase namings and initially trying just for fun, I found this way of styled writing extremely comfortable so that it eventually forms into a habit. This seemingly personal preference however, coincides with a latest trend of writing style, especially among Gen Z.
Ariana Grande’s iconic, abusive use of all-lowercase writings in her social media posts, do do her fans. Mariah Carey though (see her reply in the lower left corner), still uses the gramatically correct way of typing, even on Instagram.
Kristin Merrilees’s Why Gen Z Made Capitalization Irrelevant provides a crash course about this anti-capitalization movement. Yet while she and a lot of people are simply classifying it as another internet language mutation, the lowercase trend has a longer history, a more nuanced motive and a more persistent popularity: Speaking of history, E. E. Cummings (or e. e. cummings) and Steve Jobs did this in their published poems and signatures. From a technical point of view, all-lowercase is faster to type, especially on mobile devices. More generally, all-lowercase reduces the trouble of styling and the tiny but irritating friction one would come across in writing when faced with a whether-to-cap-it-or-not dilemma. Readability is also an issue. Lower case texts are more consistent and smooth to read through, and are more pleasing to look at for some reason. While most internet slangs come and go (for example, abusively using ~tildes~ or *asterisks*), all lowercase seems to be persistently seeding in a lot of the young generation’s writing habit.
Perhaps for an internet-age issue, consulting formal blogs for an answer doesn’t help that much. And here’s a reply on Quora that, in my perspective, best explained this matter:
Firstly, I’ll clarify stuff a little. I’m a teen myself, and if you ask me, we type in two ways that are like yin and yang to each other. One is all lowercase, abbreviating words (like “you” to “u”, “yeah” to “yea” or “really” to “rly”) and skipping apostrophes. The other is using more correct capitalization and punctuation, filling your text messages with metaphors and subjectivity adverbs and even using bolds and italics. And there’s barely an in-between between these two extremes.
Both happen because of aesthetic and psychological reasons.
Typing a whole text message of lowercase letters suggests kind of a laidback attitude, which is why a portion of people may choose this way of typing. Another reason is that, because there are no caps, the message itself feels more stable. Plus, people who type that way often think that using caps well feels too raw, so they prefer to take them out, strengthening the calmness they’d want to convey. Some others might do it because, in a way, it has become kind of a cult. And maybe that’s why that typing style is more expanded and stereotyped to Generation Z than the other. Obviously, no one would type that way in an essay or something more formal, but only in social media.
On the other hand, using an elaborated grammar and punctuation couldn’t feel as chill or laidback as an “all lowercase” message, but kind of the opposite. I think it feels more honest and expressive. Also more joyful and energetic. And that’s mainly why that other percentage of teenagers, myself included, prefer to type this way. And you’d ask me: If you always use a correct grammar and punctuation, how can I know you’re in your schoolwork or you’re just talking to your bestie? So if I want to be formal, I’ll speak more literally and go straight to the point, but when I’m speaking to my friends or my crush, I might be more metaphorical and use adverbs that suggest subjectivity, along a much more street-like language. And if I want to sound cute, I’d recur to repeating the last letter of a word/sentence (like when I say “Thankssss”). That combined with a more expressive way of explaining yourself is just adorable. And, just like in the first case, I wouldn’t fill an essay with metaphors, subjectivity adverbs, bolds and italics; that way of typing only rises in informal situations as well.
Anyways, I really hope you understand why our generation types in these two completely different ways.
CutieJewel. (All right belongs to the original author)
Btw, there are people criticizing that teens do this because they want to be edgy. It might be a partially reason but there’s more: it’s a choice of aesthetic,
luscious lowercase letters flow across the computer screen with such aplomb, such cadence, that the viewer can’t help but sigh in sheer appreciation for the author’s words.. the words that flow on and on without a break, without a hitch.
Felicia Green’s reply to Why do edgy teens type in all lowercase on Quora? (All rights belong to the original author)
plus we’re lazy. that is all i have to say. -ariana (the singing one)