Comment by Wingy

On a formal discussion board like this, I don't believe an informal tone is correct. To me, it doesn't make it harder to read, but it does come across as mildly disrespectful of the environment.

When texting on a phone, the default is to automatically capitalize. Using all-lowercase requires more work than doing nothing. It isn't lazy or even more efficient to go back and replace your "I"s with "i"s. With the right reader, it's done to give them a better idea of the tone you wish to deliver.

With that said, it requires a certain degree of audience awareness. Many people do not interpret lack of capitalization the same way I do, as evidenced by this thread. On my phone, I have auto-capitalization disabled. When texting someone for the first time, I tend to use proper capitalization, even if I want a casual tone. I just did a typing test with capitalization and punctuation and scored 55 wpm on my phone. It's a choice I make and it varies based on audience, and intended tone. Effort, on the other hand, is not a factor.