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Luv 2 Txt MAG
You need to send a quick text to your mom to tell her soccer practice is canceled. In an effort not to get caught, you reach ever so slowly, skillfully, and one-handedly into your backpack. Drawing your bright purple handheld lifeline from the front pocket, you are careful not to press any button that will reveal your mission to Mr. Boring, who is yapping away at the front of the room. With the phone in your lap, you try not to look down as you type: “sccer canceled! pick^ @2 thx <3.”
Sent. You slip it into you pocket, fearing you will not be able to discreetly get it back in your bag. But wait … your BFF Lucy’s hair looked utterly ridiculous when you passed her in the hall on your way to bio. It’s unthinkable to wait until lunch to tell her. Only a horrid friend would let her saunter around with a mortifying hairdo! So, you repeat the sneaky process of texting: “Fix ur hair, its sticking ^!!!!” Now, not only have you just missed two whole possibly important minutes of Mr. Boring’s lecture, but you have furthered the decline of your spelling and vocabulary.
Could you understand the title of this article? Anyone who has ever texted or used instant messaging can. Most teens love to text. What our English teachers, parents, and future employers would prefer us to say is “I love grammar,” which most of us don’t. There are times when we have to use proper grammar and times when we don’t. The problem is that the line between when to spell-check and proofread and when to just type and send is becoming blurred and almost invisible.
The way we type when we use virtual communication devices affects the way we spell – not just when we’re in a rush, but on school or job assignments too. Ever caught yourself writing u instead of you in an essay for school? What about tho instead of though? In a world where instant gratification is everything, we simply do not take the time to add the few extra letters. Although teens today will eventually become the ones who set the standards for spelling and grammar, our elders are calling the shots now, and they tend to look down on spelling and grammatical errors. This could easily affect one’s grades or job opportunities.
Notice it or not, the words we choose, or rather don’t choose, when we use informal communication have significance. Rarely in a text message will a teen use the extensive vocabulary preached by our educators. Seldom do we see the word exultant for happy, morose for sad, querulous for annoyed, or ecstatic for glad in a text. We must reawaken this vast glossary of obscure and unused words if we expect to succeed on exams like the SATs that affect our future.
So, go ahead, work your fingers to the bone texting, but before you hit send, think about what you have written. Consider the words you chose and the way you spelled them and maybe, just maybe, you will retype your message.
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This article has 306 comments.
While I think texting is overused, I don't think that the problem is scientifical. For example, a study has shown that texting may actually improve teen spelling.
On that note, I think there is a problem. And that is just the huge obsession over it. What does it tell you about humanity when young adults would rather send messages using mispelled words than just talk to the actual person?
Thanks for the thing about religion. I'm acception of people of other religions only because it's such a pervasive influence/does have some good points but mostly it just saddens me because it's so restrictive and it can really hurt people sometimes.
Haha sorry to go off on a tangent! As for the chat speak, hear, hear! But it really doesn't have much to do with texting. I'm sorry your friends use chat speak. Ugh.
This is bad of me but I text people and have long conversations with them preferably over talking on the phone. This is because A: A lot of my friends' phones hang up on them or have bad signals and mine does a lot, too. B: I have a slight phobia of talking to people on the phone for the first few times. Especially if it's a guy I like xD I know I should be working to get over this but every time I try something happens to worsen it. Like I call at a bad time or there's an awkward silence where neither person knows what to say or they seem uninterested in talking or whatever. C: My mom bugs me all the freaking time and she'll really rudely interrupt me when I'm on the phone, and my general instinct is to yell at her, and then person on the phone hears it.
Anyone else have the phone phobia? I hope I'm not alone. I used to date this guy who'd play his guitar while talking to me and I didn't really know if I should talk or listen. That really got to me too xD Ever happen to you?
If you think it has such an effect, all you have to do is spell out really and talk.
I'm sure you KNOW how they're spelled. Just stop being lazy and your grade will go up, pretty much. <3
The only reason I do not text is because of most of my friends' lack of ability to type a coherent sentence. Seriously...reading these texts make me think that these people are utterly incurious and incapable of any thought more abstract than predicting who will win the superbowl.
While I like to think that religion is a major deterrent when it comes to breeding a more..."intelligent" population, I can't help but wonder if texting has that much more of a detrimental effect. Perhaps, the English language will evolve to the point where "standard" English will be spelt and pronounced in AOL speak...with the rational thinkers drowning in a sea of "Lol's" and "noobs".
It's not that I have a problem with texting as a whole, but I have problems with people who type in broken English so much that it gets to a point where I can't even understand them anymore.
Grammar isn't a hard concept to master, but our dirt poor public educational system in the United States isn't doing anything to help this.
I'm a huge texter, I really am. And all my friends and parents and such tell me I'm addicted, and truthfully, I wouldn't deny it. But I spell out every word, use proper punctuation and grammar, and have never used "u" "ur" or "tho".
I think some people generalize the texting problem, making it seem like it applies to all teens.
Just because I text all the time does not mean I'm stupid. Or I'm failing in school, or I don't like to read or something. I think we have to make the distinction between all teens. We're all different, and people cannot group as together
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