by Mike Stanley

Created on: June 02, 2009   Last Updated: June 16, 2009

How many of us are guilty of telling someone to just "Google" it? The computer world isn't the first industry to affect how we speak, but it is the latest, and probably the most influential to do so. Of this influence, the Internet portion is most likely where the largest part of the lingo comes from. The Internet is shaping how we write, and not necessarily for the best. Everywhere we look now, you see made up abbreviations from the web, such as LOL, ROFL, and many others.

Many people have written about the way the computer lingo affects our daily language, but most poke fun and act as though it is perfectly fine. While I'm not one to say it will destroy our society as a whole, I do see the widespread use of these abbreviations as a major obstacle in maintaining proper writing skills. Some argue that our current system of writing may be outdated and just as it evolved over time into what it is today, it may need to evolve again. My thoughts are that if you create a standard that everyone can easily follow, then simplifying the language with this abbreviated style of writing could very well be advantageous. However, we must maintain strict rules on spelling and grammar in order for it to work.

Apart from changing how we speak, this newfound widespread acceptance of computer lingo is also changing how we think and interact. People are becoming more "linked" and the divide between generations is getting smaller. As the older generations now have as much access to the same videos and social sites as younger generations, the lingo is becoming more standard across the board. If everyone already understands that "txt" is text, then why do we need the e?

Programmers learned a long time ago that eliminating vowels made coding easier, and maintained readability. Naming variables this way has long since been standard practice, and is likely the largest influence on Internet lingo. An example would be to name a variable "txtBx." It doesn't take the brain long to figure out that the only letters that fit in the missing vowel slots are e and o, giving you "textBox." This variable name tells the programmer that it is used to store data from a text box control. It's been known for a long time the brain is capable of filling in the gaps. In most cases, the brain seemingly skips over information it deems standard or repetitive and wouldn't miss it if it wasn't there at all. This is obvious by the fact that anyone reading txt instantly recognizes it as text. If u rmve lttrs

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