A 22-year-old's texting guide for his parents is going viral

A 22-year-old has had enough of his parent's "incorrect" texting etiquette, creating an entire lesson on it for them to learn from their mistakes.

Jason Saperstone, a publicist in New York City, delivered his first lesson on the use of the emphasis reaction in iMessage, beginning with, "Mum, Dad, I love you, but you need to get better at texting."

According to him, the exclamation reaction can only be used in three circumstances.

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1. When you agree with the sender
2. When you are in the same situation as the sender
3. To bring your message to someone's attention when they are ignoring you

He added that it can be one or the other but not all of them at once.

He used a recent example of his message to his parents reading, "I'm at a bar with Alex Cooper," referring to the host of the famous Call Her Daddy podcast.

His mum has emphasised the message with a exclamation reaction, which Saperstone said was the wrong reaction.

"I was excited for you!" his mum exclaimed, while he argued, "That would mean you're also at the bar with Alex Cooper."

The 22-year-old said that instead a thumbs up or love heart reaction would be more appropriate.

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He concluded, "So next time you are about to emphasise a text message... STOP

"And ask yourself..

1. Do you agree with what they are saying?
2. Am I in the same situation as them?
3. Are they ignoring me and do I want attention?

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"If none apply, a simple thumbs up will suffice. I promise <3"

His mum defended herself, saying, "I think of it as 'Wow, that's awesome, I'm excited'," but her son doubled down on the Gen Z gesture.

The lesson even caught the attention of actress Reese Witherspoon, who remarked, "Gosh, I have been doing all of this incorrectly for a WHILE."

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It also sparked debate, with many agreeing with the mum.

"I kind of agree with Mom here! I use it like 'omg, whaaat?' Like in response to someone telling me something wild or exciting," said one commenter.

"Every single one of you are wrong and this guy is right 100% this is how me and everyone I know emphasises messages," added another.

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"A thumbs up honestly is worse," one commenter said of Saperstone's alternative, "It feels indifferent and like you're inconveniencing them with your text."

One shared their own lesson: "OK emphasis is an exclamation point and in grammar (which hasn't changed its rules) it expresses excitement or surprise. So the older generation uses it as intended and the younger generation is making up their own rules."

This is something Saperstone agreed with, telling TODAY.com, "They text with such good intentions but I don't think they really get all the features. Gen Z has made it tricky for them. We've basically created our own language that only we fully understand."

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