Texting, like social media, is a great way to trick people into thinking certain things about your persona. It has become our generation’s preferred method of communication, which is kind of a problem since it completely eradicates body language, tone of voice, eye contact, and basically every indication of conversation besides the words. This makes it a lot easier to, basically, lie. 

So without further ado, here are the most common lies we’ve all told via text message and what they really mean.

What you typed: “lol”

What you meant: I know that was supposed to be funny, but I didn’t actually laugh. Here is my acknowledgment of your attempt. Alternatively, I punctuate all of my texts with “lol.”

What you typed: “Oh sorry, my phone was dead.”

What you meant: I am now bored enough to respond to you.

What you typed: The thumbs up, okay symbol, or the 100 emoji.

What you meant: Saying ‘okay’ is just so 2008, you know?

What you typed: “haha yeah”

What you meant: I like talking to you, but I cannot for the life of me think of anything else to say. I don’t really want the conversation to die necessarily, but if it does, it’s not that embarrassing.

What you typed: “that sucks”

What you meant: I’m just trying to be sympathetic to my friend’s everyday problems, but I’m kind of bad at it.

What you typed: “I have the funniest story to tell you later.”

What you meant: You are a total tease. Your story better be grade A if you’re making people wait to hear it instead of typing it out.

What you typed: “Ah sorry. I was at the gym.”

What you meant: I ignored your text temporarily, but I’m also in it for the #humblebrag.

So these are a few of the most common lies we send via text. We should probably just call each other. Actually, no — that’s horrifying.