Teens aren't using periods in their messages, so The New York Times didn't use them in an article

(Image credit: ALAIN JOCARD/AFP/Getty Images)

published 10 June 2016

The New York Times published an article on Friday about the waning use of periods in text messages, but because the Times is hip and cool and clever, they went the entire 300-word article without using any periods.

Compulsive grammar nerds avert your eyes — it's infuriating to look at:

Professor Crystal's observations on the fate of the period are driven in part by frequent visits to high schools across Britain, where he analyzes students' text messagesResearchers at Binghamton University in New York and Rutgers University in New Jersey have also recently noted the period's new semantic forceThey asked 126 undergraduate students to review 16 exchanges, some in text messages, some in handwritten notes, that had one-word affirmative responses (Okay, Sure, Yeah, Yup) Some had periods, while others did not [The New York Times]

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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