Abbreviations used in text messages and social networks have been widely used in many languages of the world. They have already gone a long way from infancy to full bloom and are starting to lose their appeal slowly coming out of fashion. Still, the comparison between English and Russian users of contracted words and abbreviations can reveal some culture-specific tendencies and gender-coloured preferences. The analysis of the questionnaires filled in by 115 respondents (speakers of English and Russian) is presented in the paper, demonstrating both convergencies and divergencies between the two cultures.