Why you shouldn’t write ALL CAPS

In today’s digital age, online communication has become essential in our daily lives, whether through emails, social media, forums, or blogs.
However, a common and problematic practice in online writing is the incorrect use of capital letters, especially when writing entire words or phrases in capital letters (the famous Caps Lock).
Proper capitalization is crucial to maintaining clear and respectful communication online, as it not only affects the readability and comprehension of messages, but also readers’ perception and emotional interpretation.
In this article, we explore the reasons why writing everything in all caps can be problematic and offer tips for using all caps appropriately and effectively in online communication.

Why shouldn’t you write everything in capital letters?

Every user has the right to use the Internet as he or she sees fit, in the same way that a person has the freedom to relate to society as he or she wishes, politely or rudely.
The way in which it relates, it will also be accepted or not in the different social circles.
With this article our desire is to inform you of the negative consequences of CAPITAL LETTER abuse.
Writing everything in capital letters for some is a way to stand out or get noticed, but when it comes to the internet we need to be careful.

Reading Difficulty

A capital letter is not used in printed material (newspapers, books, posters, etc.). Have you seen a book written all caps? A newspaper or a magazine or a single article all in capital letters?
This is because it causes reading difficulties. Uppercase letters are inherently less legible than lowercase letters, as lowercase letters exhibit greater variation in their shape, making them easier for our brains to recognize and process. By presenting complete words or phrases in capital letters, we slow down reading speed and text comprehension, which can lead to visual and mental fatigue in readers.
Excessive capitalization affects the visual structure of the text, making it difficult to quickly identify keywords and grasp essential information. Instead of highlighting important points, constant capitalization can have the opposite effect, making readers feel overwhelmed and discouraging them from reading further. Imagine reading a paragraph like this:

IN CLASSICAL TIMES, EVERYTHING WAS WRITTEN IN CAPITAL LETTERS.
AND SO IT WAS UNTIL THE LOWERCASE LETTER WAS INVENTED IN CHARLEMAGNE’S TIME BASED ON THE LETTER CAROLINA.
AT THAT TIME, AN ALPHABET THAT WAS EASIER TO READ AND WRITE WAS SOUGHT.
DOING IT IN LOWERCASE WAS A SOLUTION.

as opposed to:

In classical times, everything was written in capital letters.
And so it was until the lowercase letter was invented in the time of Charlemagne based on the Caroline letter.
At that time, an alphabet that was easier to read and write was sought.
Making it in lowercase was a solution.

Which one was easier and faster for you to read?

Why is writing in capital letters considered offensive?

In the language of the Internet, writing in CAPITAL LETTERS is understood as a cry to get attention.
Like any rule, this one has not been established by a person or a group, but is developed through the common sense of the users and the use of language itself.
This is how, more than 20 years ago, Netiquette , a set of rules of general behavior on the Internet, was created.
Which is nothing more than adapting the rules of etiquette from the real world to the virtual one. Write everything in capital letters

Social Impact When Everything Is Capitalized

Many people consider writing in capital letters to be rude.
But while there is no rule as such, the Internet is the way it is, not because of the technology, but because of the behavior of users.
To have a better idea of what is happening, you have to take into account that the person who reads you is not watching you and therefore does not know in what tone you are transmitting your message.
Although the Internet was made to shorten distances, it is not magic to interpret your mood either.
– Welcome Pedro, how are you?
“VERY WELL AND YOU.
–Fine thank you… we’re talking about the ways we communicate through the Internet.
–VERY INTERESTING.
I REALLY LIKE THE INTERNET BECAUSE IT’S THE ONLY WAY TO ATTRACT ATTENTION.
“Okay, Pedro, but you don’t have to shout.”
– I’M NOT SCREAMINGAAAANDDDOOOOOOOOOO Well, that would be more or less the effect of the one who writes in capital letters.
When we are on the Internet reading everything in capital letters, it creates a psychological impact on most users;

  1. Many people will believe that you are angry or that you want to impose your views at any cost.
  2. Others will think you want to get attention.
  3. Others will believe that you have bad spelling and grammar, because many people usually write texts in sustained capital letters to avoid putting accents, for example, tree = TREE, but the RAE (authority that determines the rules for the correct use of our language) establishes that in sustained capital letters the accents ARE used: TREE.

USING WORDS IN SHARP CAPITAL LETTERS IS NOT SOMETHING NEW

According to Professor Paul Luna, (director of the department of typography and graphic communications at the British University of Reading), he says that writing in capital letters is a sign of pomposity and solemn aesthetics used for 2,000 years by the ancient Romans, who wrote this way to recount their heroic acts.
In ancient times, writing only with capital letters was the only writing that was used.
The use of lowercase letters is much more recent.
In the time of Charlemagne, in the eighth century, scribes began to use lowercase letters because their clarity and simplicity facilitated learning.
It soon became the standard writing for books.
At a forum held in 1984, participants were asked what it would mean for them to write in capital letters, and one wrote, “if I write in capital letters, it is because I am trying to SHOUT.” The most common ways to emphasize words on the Internet are as follows:

  • To use a CAPITAL WORD is to try to make my word look HIGHER, MORE SHOWY.
  • Using *asterisks* is the best way to emphasize this word.
  • Writing the p a l a b r a a spaced is another way to draw attention to a concept.

What does Graphology say about capital letters?

Graphology is a projective technique that analyzes writing in order to inquire about personality.
Graphology tells us the following:

  • Any use of capital letters as the only type of writing carries with it the potential increase of the pride of the person who performs it.
  • Addressing a piece of writing only with capital letters, supposes in itself, a distancing from the person to whom the writing was addressed, but with a haughty attitude.

The correct use of capital letters according to the RAE

The RAE tells us that For different reasons, words, phrases and even entire texts can be written entirely in capital letters, but it is usual for capital letters to be used only in the initial position of a word…” That is to say, according to the RAE we could write everything in capital letters if we wanted to.

How does sustained capitalization affect the user experience?

Many people say that when they find entire blocks written in capital letters, they automatically give up reading. As we have already read at the beginning, for the vast majority of users it is uncomfortable and irritating to read entire blocks of text in capital letters.
These blocks of text have even been shown to represent a lousy user experience on web pages as it affects the readability of the text.




So if you write on a blog or website, it is very likely that very few people will read your content.
Another problem is that the latter can be interpreted as carelessness or laziness on our part, in offering information inappropriately, which will surely cause a negative effect on SEO.
When we are publishing on our own website, the titles are already clearly visible and there is no need to draw more attention than necessary. Facebook penalizes comments written all in capital letters, hiding the content automatically.
Page admins also can’t see them, or even get a notification that there’s a new comment.
Comments are hidden and are represented by a three-dot symbol.
From the point of view of Usability, we are making things difficult for those who visit our website.

I’M AN OLD PERSON AND I DON’T SEE THE LETTERS, THAT’S WHY I WRITE LIKE THAT

For many years, operating systems have offered us the possibility of increasing the size of the letters to make things easier for us.
On Windows, Linux, Mac, Android, and iPhone it is possible to adjust the font size, or improve the contrast of the screen.
This is to allow the best reading for people who have some type of visual impairment or who have presbyopia problems.
I assure you, who are reading me and thinking that this is not so, that if you configure your device properly you will not only be able to write and read better, but you will also spend more time looking at the screen than you usually do.




Other important aspects when writing on the internet

Not worrying about writing without spelling mistakes is a lack of respect for the people who read us.
Due to the large number of people who misuse technology on a daily basis, spelling mistakes have become a textual transmission disease.
Today’s technology allows us to dictate and convert speech into text, and even correct it through dictionaries as we write.
As incredible as it may seem, despite all these facilities, people write worse every day. We are all victims of this disease that is transmitted thanks to repeated exposure to misspelled words.
After seeing a certain number of times a misspelled word, our brain doubts what we believe is correct.

There is a saying that goes “a lie repeated 1,000 times becomes a truth”.

Many people no longer know when or how to spell “because” or “why”, whether it is “but” or “if not”.
And something that is very common, they do not remember the difference between “there is”, “there” and “ay”.
If you have come this far, you may be interested in reading: Don’t use technology as an excuse, strive to write better every day. Where I explain how Dyslexia helps me write better than people who don’t have it.

“No one is going to die of spelling, or education, but spelling is a reflection of education and education is behind all problems. Writing well means respect for the interlocutor, to whom you are speaking, to whom you are directing your message.
Spelling is not perfection, not one mistake or two or none, spelling is an attitude.”

-Pablo Zulaica Parra.

Other references

Further reading on the subject of the capitalization held on the Internet and other rules of netiquette

This note is the product of research and common sense in the use of digital media.

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