Old People Tweet Links, Young People Tweet XD

This just in from a study of 3,000 Twitter users, as summarized by the New York Times' Jennifer A. Kingson:

Older people also “have a higher usage of links and hashtags, which can be associated with information sharing and impression management.”

And yes, teenagers and millennials do conform to some of their stereotypes. On Twitter, “younger persons talk more about themselves and use more chat language such as haha, XD,” the researchers wrote, “while older people use more conventional words indicating support or wishing well (e.g. wish, enjoy, thanks, take care).”

This is the moment where a certain portion of the audience will freeze in terror. XD? What is XD? Am I old now?

Via: Old People Tweet Links, Young People Tweet XD