TikTok is shocked at these hilarious, unhinged text messages from boomer parents

Attention, parents over the age of 50: TikTok has decided − it's time you stopped texting.

OK, maybe don't stop texting all together. But please, please, your children are begging you: At least try and be a little clearer and include context in your messages.

In a video with 3.2 million views, TikToker Allie O'Brien shares comments from people describing unintentionally ominous text messages they got from their parents. Turns out, these parents didn't mean to worry their kids at all − though their texts, when read out of context, surely did.

"I have a screenshot after my dad was getting surgery where my mom says, 'They lost your father' − meaning she didn't know what room he was in," one comment reads.

"I once got a text that said, 'Your aunt passed (blood emojis),' but apparently she just had high enough iron levels to donate blood," read another.

The messages have stupefied O'Brien, who ends the video asking: "What becomes of people over the age of 50 to text like this?"

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Since that initial video went viral, O'Brien has received more comments from people sharing unhinged text messages from their parents and reads them aloud in follow-up videos.

"When my grandpa was in the hospital my dad told me they unhooked everything and it was time," reads one comment. "I took that as he died and let my moms side know. Nope he was getting discharged."

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Sometimes parent texts have gone in the other direction, making something dark seem light.

"My mom did the opposite," one commenter wrote. "My aunt was in the hospital for a few days and my mom texted 'Your Aunt has gone home!' She meant heaven. My aunt died."

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Teen texting also mocked

It's not just Gen X or boomers who find themselves the subject of social media scrutiny over their text messages. A similar account run by Chip Leighton, highlights funny, clueless or insensitive texts teens send their parents.

In a video with 4.2 million views, Leighton shares messages parents got, "What's grandma's actual name?" and "Bruh. When does my social security number expire?" Other gems include, "Please don't send dad. I'm too tired to be embarrassed" and "Will I get in trouble for driving with roller skates on?" Just like O'Brien's account, the comments section of Leighton's videos are filled with eager users sharing similar messages from their own family members.

Leighton tells USA TODAY he understands the frustration people have with the way their parents text as well, like their penchant for periods and ellipses, even in casual conversation.

"There are many things young people find annoying about the way we text, but their biggest pet peeve is when we use punctuation. 'Why do you put a period after every sentence? It’s so aggressive' " he says. "And don’t even think about using the ominous ellipses…these come across as intimidating and very weird."

Texting etiquette is real − and ever-changing

These accounts, while hilarious, highlight a generational divides over language, vernacular and digital etiquette. 

Other messaging styles like sending long blocks of text or the use of certain punctuation marks point to our shifting interpretation of what is sent to us in digital communication.

Perhaps that period you used made your tone seem curt when you were just trying to end a sentence. Maybe you read an exclamation point as shouting when it was intended to be friendly.

It turns out there's a reason for the disconnect among different generations that's tied to when a person adopted digital communication in his or her lifetime.

Many young people have a “computer-first mentality” and choose different grammatical tools in messages compared with those who are older and grew up doing "more casual writing on postcards,” linguist Gretchen McCulloch, author of "Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language," previously told USA TODAY.

The solution? Try to mirror the punctuation and style of the person you are communicating with, McCulloch says.

“If someone sends me an email with no exclamation marks, I will try to send them an email back with as few exclamation marks as possible."

The less digital confusion, the better − even if it does make for hilarious viral videos.

Contributing: Carly Mallenbaum