Gen Z's top 10 awkward things parents do in texts - from emojis to 'ok' reply
Gen Z adults have shared some of the top cringeworthy things their parents do when it comes to texting or messaging – like replying “ok” to everything, or responding to good news with a thumbs-up emoji.
Three in ten are left rolling their eyes when their mum or dad signs off a message with a long string of x's, while 19% find it awkward when they write “haha” as “ha ha”.
And falling foul of autocorrect (28%), or using proper punctuation in a message (21%), are among other things that 18-25-year-olds class as texting mishaps, on their parents' part.
It also emerged that almost three-quarters (73%), of the 1,000 young adults polled, in this age group, prefer to communicate via messages on the likes of iMessage, WhatsApp, or Snapchat – rather than on a phonecall.
And six in ten admit they have even ignored calls from their own parents – as a third of Gen Zs find speaking on the phone “awkward”, while one in four actively avoid it.
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A quarter (24%) say they would never just phone someone out of the blue – and 36% reckon the bulk of the phone calls they do make are trying to get hold of their mates on a night out.
However, it's not just calls they are ignoring – as 41% have even muted a group chat with their mum and dad.
Four in ten parents try to play it safe with emojis - or avoid using them altogether (Doug Peters/PinPep)The research was commissioned by Sky Mobile, which teamed up with TV star Jeff Brazier, who has been on campus finding the best way parents can contact their offspring, as millions of students head off to university for the first time.
Jeff said: “I used to think I was up to speed with all the texting tricks of the younger generation, but after I visited some lovely students, I’ve officially been schooled.
“Keeping connected to my kids is super important, particularly as they embark on the big challenges in their lives. So, I’m glad I’ve been given the opportunity to learn from some of the digital natives of our time.”
It comes after a separate poll of 1,000 parents, with children aged 13 to 25, revealed 71% believe picking up the phone for a chat is the best way to keep in contact with someone.
However, six in ten parents believe the younger generation are scared of answering calls compared to previous generations – with 64% agreeing they only hear from their children via WhatsApp and text.
The research also explored messaging between parents and their children – with 35% finding it amusing when their parents have no idea what emojis mean, as 27% believe their parents are even clueless about the ones they are sending themselves.
But 38% of parents admitted they hardly ever use emojis, and if they do they try to play it safe – with 40% revealing that getting their head around what emojis mean is like learning a new language.
But over a third of young adults find it funny when their parents struggle to understand emojis (Doug Peters/PinPep)It’s not just emojis which are puzzling them, though, as 28% have had to turn to Google to work out what their children have sent them.
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And 24% think they are trying to baffle them on purpose – with “slay”, “peng”, and “roadman” among the most perplexing terms used.
Despite the difficulties with communication, the study, from Sky Mobile, found two-thirds of parents are currently footing the bill for their teen or Gen Z offspring’s phone contracts.
Nearly six in ten (59%) are doing so to ensure their kids are easy to contact, while 41% want to support them financially where they can – and 64% of those polled, via OnePoll, would even happily share any of their own unused data with them.
Paul Sweeney, managing director for Sky Mobile, added: “As a parent of university-aged kids myself, I know all parents want to stay connected as their kids start a new term.
“All unused data rolls into one Sky Piggybank that can be shared, so students can get a top-up whenever they need it to stay in touch – by message, not phone call.”
TOP 10 AWKWARD MESSAGING MISHAPS PARENTS MAKE WHEN COMMUNICATING WITH KIDS:
- Replying “ok” to everything (41%)
- Signing off texts with lots of xxx's (30%)
- Replying to big news or good news with a thumbs up (29%)
- Being a victim of autocorrect (28%)
- Sending random photos or jokes without context (22%)
- Using proper punctuation in messages (21%)
- Writing “haha” as “ha ha” (19%)
- Using emojis incorrectly (19%)
- Sending images with motivational quotes (17%)
- Using LOL as lots of love, rather than laugh out loud (15%)
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