The Irony of Aspie v. NT Messaging

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I dont know if anyone else has thought this, but does anyone find it ironic that (at least on this website), Aspies usually write with refined, articulate text, while if you scroll through average message boards PPl wryt liek dis' and if you had never met the person before you'd assume they had a writing or cognitive issue?

And in real life, its usually deez sam pplz lololo omg !#$@% who are our social intelligence superiors? Wtf. I guess if you can say what you want with your face, body language and mouth correctly, the need to correctly express yourself via the internet and text messaging diminishes greatly. Its just strange to think about. At least for me.

Yes it is strange.
It's pretty funny to see their script...for about 3 seconds, then it hurts to watch...

But I don't think they write so badly because they are NTs, I think it's a subculture among those who are not Aspie, but also not necessarily NT.

0mgz0rz u mean u dnt fink I r kwel 4 typn lik dis?? If I r 2 smart pplz will fink I r a snob so I r typn lik I m stoopid 2 b kwel lolz0rz idk rofl imho lmao

Yes, there are Nuerotypicals that write badly like that. For each one of those, there is an Aspie who writes like a pretentious Shakespeare immitator.

I've noticed it, but I'm wondering if it also depends on the sort of forum it is. For instance, you could have a forum consisting of NTs that has a real purpose - such as a specific hobby or academic topic, and you're going to get quite different sorts of people using it than some random entertainment place that attracts all sorts of low intelligence and immature people.

That being said, Aspies are generally more intelligent, and usually quite articulate in the written word. We also don't feel the need to say something just to say it.

Of course I've not spent much time in forums apart from WP. Mostly because there really is some intelligent dialogue. Also, it's been my only avenue for connecting with fellow Aspies until recently, so I've had reason to use it.

Maybe it's because the people who write very abbreviated multi-task and they are driving down the road at the same time they are texting and well hope not!! !

fully punctuated capitalized text can come off as arrogant or tryhard or condescending or something sometimes
it depends on how you act in person as well, though

I should think natural selection would keep that from generally being the case.

Actually, that brings up a good point. NTs may abbreviate so rampantly partially because they have so many different text to disperse. Since people with Aspergers generally are communicating with less people, we have more time to articulate ourselves better via writing. Also, NTs are much more prone to imitation (or at least more exacting imitation) of others, and if most of their peers type as such, the individual NT will do the same to conform and be accepted.

Yes that is a good point that NTs want to imitate other NT's and use the same abbreviated text. When NTs communicate via the iphone or cell phone they use abbreviated text and not sure if they would use it on an internet forum.

Gah! The above comments are a bit condescending. As an NT I am no more "prone to imitation" or "want to immitate" other NTs than someone with AS.

All people imitate others to some degree, that's why we're all pretty much the same - that includes NT and AS, since we're all human beings and not some seperate species.

Last edited by BMctav on 28 Apr 2012, 11:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

Imitator.

Possible reasons for poor spelling and grammar on message boards, besides being incapable of it:

- Being a slow typist. This necessitates abbreviating as much as possible, hnc th rmvl f vwls and the rise of Internet acronyms. I use some tbh.
- With the advent of smart phones (I have one myself), posting on message boards while doing other stuff - the worst offenders do it while driving!
- Having dozens or even hundreds of people to send messages to. Which to me is a sign that they've overextended themselves on obligations or are just trying to chat with too many friends at once.
- Not wanting to appear to be twice their age! It's a sad thing when those who have the typing skills, grammar skills and time to use good spelling and grammar are assumed to be 35 or older. I've typed like this in childhood!

Still no excuse for poor writing. I have notuiced very few people know how to write these days, and that scares me.

I do think we are generally better at conversing since we plan our responses, but are worse at spontaneity, which is what emotions run well with. Socializing brings out emotions. So we have a cocktail of reasons why they are like that.

Of course there are exceptions but I dont SEe neone typing liek dis on the aspergers boards. Depending on the forum, yes, some NTs have excellent grammar. Across the board good grammar though on regular forums seems endemic to certain types of rooms. On this site, all sorts of people with Aspergers frequent, and many age groups and demographics, but I dont see the weird typing that I do on other website groups.

The imitation thing is inherently easier for NTs. One of the symptoms of aspergers is the difficulty adapting socially and in appearance. This requires the ability to imitate others well. Your brain is pre-wired to be better at this.

To be honest, NT's are much more prone to imitation than Aspies. Not all, but most. Their brains are wired to pick up on and imitate others' actions, and try to fit in. Aspies, not as much. It's just a difference in brain function.