It was my friend’s birthday the other day, or so Facebook told me. Wanting to be a somewhat caring person, I decided to write on their page.

You know what I wrote? “Happy Birthday, [name]!”

Not “Happy Bday”, not “hppy brthdy”, and certainly not “hbd”, the one way to say “Happy Birthday!” That irks me the most.

Writing “hbd” on someone’s Facebook page does not count as a legitimate birthday wish, despite the fact that I saw more than a few people utilizing it as entire body of their post.   

Writing “hbd” is lazy and probably one of the least endearing ways to say “Happy Birthday.”

Facebook doesn’t have limit on characters like Twitter. You have the space to fully write out “Happy Birthday”, and the fact that so many people don’t is highly disturbing.

Is your friend not worth the extra 5 seconds it takes to spell out the words fully and completely?  Are you incapable of spelling either happy or birthday?  Were you unaware that, that is what “hbd” stands for but are just writing it anyway?

If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, I am severely disappointed in you.

What I am more disappointed in is that if you answered “no” to any of the questions above and still chose to write “hbd” you are a part of a growing epidemic where it seems sentiment is being lost to convenience. 

Yes, it is easier and quicker to write out three letters than write out the full words, but imagine being on the receiving end. Does the “hbd” really feel sincere? 

Sure, the general acknowledgement might be nice, but at the same time it’s barely any a recognition and it certainly isn’t meaningful and personal.

Even people who continue on in their posts after the “hbd” with kinder words upset me just based on the premise that if you are going out of your way to write lovely, thought-out well-wishes, why would you not go just a little further and spell the whole thing out to make it just that much more poetic?

Its little things like “hbd” that make our generation look colder and less caring than others.

Using an acronym is fine for business or logistical situations but not for things like birthdays.

If we start falling into this trap, in the most extreme scenario we will really lose sentimental value in our language and communication. 

If this digression continues we will eventually fall back to the days of the Caveman where language was merely a series of slightly distinguishable grunts. That could be an exaggeration, but maybe not.

Kaycie Brauer a senior English major. She can be reached at denopinions@gmail.com.