Communicating in text-message style: Is it ruining real communication?

No

1 of 37

by Joel Meeks

• 

Write now Print Invite a writer™ Add to Favorites RSS Feed Contact this writer

Text messaging is not ruining modern communication, and it can sometimes even help to improve it.

Although many people think that texting is the reason for teenagers using shorthand so often, this is simply untrue. This assumption is similar to the concept that playing violent video games or watching violent movies. People think that being exposed to this violence will cause the player or viewer to become more violent itself. But this argument is fundamentally flawed, in the idea that this line of thinking is presented under the assumption that the consumer of these media are unable to differentiate between reality and fantasy. Similarly, to agree with the concept that text messaging is to blame for the degradation of written language, one must believe that said teenagers cannot tell the difference between a text message and a more formal medium.

Just as an avid player of Grand Theft Auto will not decide to shoot people or hijack cars for no reason (because they have the cognitive capacity to realize that these things are not acceptable in reality,) someone who texts often who says "w/e, u r so weird lol" in a text message will not transfer this sort of shorthand language into an essay they are required to write, because they realize that it has no place there. That is, of course, assuming that these individuals understand the differences between shorthand and formal writing in the first place. Children who are new to the concept of writing and are introduced to texting must be guided, and encouraged to keep the styles separate, but this is usually not the case.

Texting is, in many cases, an outlet for the practice of writing that is used where many others are simply ignored. Most of the children in today's society will not write in their free time, and a large portion of them do not enjoy reading. Sending text messages to their friends allows them to practice their written communication techniques, informal or not.

People who do transfer their shorthand and abbreviations from texting into their writing will, in correlation with the previous analogy once again, have some sort of existing or previous problem, whether it be lack of practice in writing, insufficient typing abilities to match pace with their thoughts, or sheer laziness. In these cases, it is not the texting that should be blame, but the texter.

For example, I am a bit of a texting addict myself, and not only do I not transfer abbreviations or emoticons into my writing, I don't use them in the first place, nor do most of my friends. This only serves to further exemplify the concept that it is not the medium that is at fault here, but the users of the medium.

Turning in a different direction, the idea that texting ruins 'real communication' is defective in another sense, being in that it fails to consider the social behaviors of sheltered children. Children who are shy, self-conscious of themselves, or simply unpracticed in social interactions can use texting as an outlet to develop their communicative abilities with others, in a much more non-personal, anonymous fashion, making them feel less vulnerable and much less likely to be embarrassed or to fail. Used in the manner of a stepping stone, texting can make an introvert more open to the idea of meeting new people. As another personal example, I actually met my long-time girlfriend by way of texting, having been much too shy to introduce myself to her, being intimidated by the fact that I was a few years younger.

There is no denying that there are various instances of literacy being below par, but this is not new. Shorthand was not invented with texting; it has been a problem even before cell phones were introduced. Although texting has added its own brand of simplification, such as abbreviations and acronyms, it is not the root cause of the problem, and can even help solve some of them. Once again, it is not the medium, but the users.

Learn more about this author, Joel Meeks.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.