Does Texting Really Affect Writing?
(Each year RockScissorsPaper publishes the winners of the James Strickland Award for Writing. Named after an honored colleague and SRU Professor Emeritus, these award-winning essays have been submitted by SRU English faculty and winners have been determined by SRU English Department Faculty, the College of Liberal Arts, and Professor Strickland himself. The following essay was the second-place winner for the 2020-2021 academic year. Professor Strickland noted the following in selecting this essay as our runner-up: “His title was meant to draw in readers because his argument is really whether new technology, especially that connected to smartphones, changes how writers write. Rogan used evidence from educators, bloggers, journalists, and researchers to look at what happens when everything’s an abbreviation (brb, lol, imho, etc.) or at least auto-corrected. The very nature of texting, with its informality that some might label carelessness, cannot help but affect writing quality. Rogan seems to believe that schools should maintain a distinction between writing done for school assignments and writing done between classmates outside of school. He also contended that the texting aspect of the debate is just the 21st century part of the ongoing argument and that more reading and more writing for real purposes will counteract any sloppiness encouraged by technology. I was reminded of note-passing in classrooms; no one ever checked for abbreviations, misspellings, or slang.”)
By John Rogan
Does texting really affect one’s ability to write? Most people today use text messaging in one form or another, and that is especially true in younger generations. Texting allows for fast and easy communication that is usually informal. One of the common characteristics of text messaging is the use of abbreviations. Abbreviations like “brb” or “ttyl” will be used instead of their formal form of “be right back” or “talk to you later.” Another common trait of text messaging is the little use of punctuation. Most texts will be short phrases or sentences with no commas or periods. In small doses these informal forms of communication are harmless, but when used constantly it can influence a person’s writing abilities. The line between texting and formal writing is being blurred and some people use text lingo in formal settings. This is especially true in school classrooms. A study that was published in 2008 discovered, through surveys and focus groups of teens and their parents, that 50% of students said that they have used informal grammar on school assignments while 38% said that they have used text shortcuts on school assignments (“Writing, Technology and Teens.”). Due to the constant use of informal and improper spelling, grammar, punctuation and lingo, students, and people’s ability to write is being negatively affected.
Texting was initially designed for short and quick messages. Abbreviations and little punctuation were used because it was much harder to type on cell phones before keyboards were added. Smartphones have made it much easier to text with their touch keyboards. Touch keyboards are not the only thing that smartphones brought to the texting game. AutoCorrect and spellcheck are other game changers in the way people use text messaging. While AutoCorrect is not always perfect it is generally correct. It is a great tool if you hit the wrong key on the tiny touch keyboard of your phone, but it can also be used as sort of a cheat method. Same can be said for spellcheck, it is can be useful for longer words that you may not be completely sure how to spell, but it can also be used to cheat learning of how to correctly spell a word.
More and more people are neglecting to learn how to spell words correctly because they have AutoCorrect and spellcheck to fix their problem. When texting, they can simply start typing a word incorrectly and AutoCorrect will fix it and they can continue to type their message. They will therefore neglect learning the correct spelling of the word because they can rely on AutoCorrect or spellcheck. It is from the constant use of AutoCorrect and spellcheck in text messaging that people fail to learn, or simply forget, how to correctly spell words. A survey was conducted and published in 2012 by the BBC News revealing that people were neglecting spelling because they had AutoCorrect and spellcheck. The survey 1 concluded that of the 2,000 participants, a third of the group could not spell “definitely” correct and two thirds chose the wrong form of spelling for the word “necessary,” while two thirds of the group used spellcheck most or all the time. (“Poor Spelling of ‘Auto-Correct Generation’ Revealed.”). Surveys are not the only thing showing this result. In a University of Alabama at Birmingham news article, Carrie Beth Buchanan who is an English teacher at Clay-Chalkville High School, discussed the problems with students using spellcheck. In the article she said, “Many high school students have become dependent on electronic spellcheckers. As a result, I spend a significant amount of time circling misspelled words on assignments” (Bakken). AutoCorrect and spellcheck are being used so often that people fail to correctly spell words at times and this continues to be a problem.
While AutoCorrect and spellcheck make it easy to neglect the correct spelling of words, it does not fix grammar or punctuation problems that usually come with SMS text messages. Emails typically are more formal and are used more often in professional settings. Whereas texting is considered more informal and personal. The average person between the ages 18 and 24, sends and receives 128 texts each day (Burke). When you take that and consider that most texts are with family and friends, the conversations are typically informal. Because of this, people will use abbreviations because it is faster, or because they do not feel the need to be formal. People will type “cuz” instead of “because” due to it being faster to type (Warsi). They feel little need to be formal with someone they know, so they will type an abbreviated form. Another thing that will get neglected in these friendly conversations is punctuation. People will often neglect punctuation that would be acceptable in a formal setting (Warsi). This is typically because it is easier to not bother with commas and periods than it is to bother with have them, or because they are so used to not typing them at all. People may type out multiple sentences at once but with no punctuation simply out of laziness or ignorance. These things on occasion may not be bad, but when you consider how often people text, it leads to problems.
One of the biggest problems being that student’s text so much they do not know the difference between proper grammar and text lingo (Singleton-Rickman). By always using these abbreviations like “gtg” and improper punctuation, students are forgetting, or simply never understood, what acceptable writing is. Students know the text lingo, because they use it so much, and it makes its way into school assignments (Singleton-Rickman). An alarming quote that comes from an article titled, “Is texting eroding good writing skills among young students?” from Yale University’s Perspective says that students, “find it difficult to write in detail or at any significant length.” Students are used to the fast pace of texting conversations, that writing longer works is becoming a struggle. Not only are students affected by the constant text phrases and lingo, but adults are as well. M.J. Warsi writes in his article “Texting: Improper grammar, poorer writing skills” that, “For example, I know with many of my friends, they often spell words incorrectly or in a shorter way because through texting it makes it easier and faster for them to get their point across. However, due to this, often 2 times they end up forgetting the actual spelling of certain words since they are no longer used to writing it like that.” People are so used to the informal aspect of text, that they often blur the line between it and formal writing.
Many newspapers and articles have been written over the concerns about texting influencing themselves as well as their children. Parents fear that their child may never stop texting. Especially, with the unlimited plans offered by companies like AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless (Hafner). Teachers, rightfully so, fear for their student’s abilities to write. Not only now but in the future. Text lingo has become more common in students’ assignments, and it is frustrating the teachers who cannot stop the problem (Lytle). Dorlea Rikard, a language teacher at Florence High School said that, “They slip into the informal voice often, and that’s really a tightrope because you want them to find their own voice, but the writing must be appropriate” (Singleton-Rickman). Another teacher Deborah Yager, said, “It’s a huge issue and it’s rampant” (Hafner). Teachers continue to see students struggling in school because of their constant use of informal writing in texts. Not only are parents and teachers noticing and are concerned, but other students notice as well. McKay Cleveland, a Florence High School student who works at the writing center, said this about helping other students, “I would suspect that some of the mistakes I see in writing assignments are text related” (Singleton-Rickman). Parents, teachers, and students may have a up close and personal view on the experience, but others are concerned as well. Texting is starting to worry physicians and psychologists, who are worried for multiple reasons. They say it leads to repetitive stress injury, anxiety, sleep deprivation and is a distraction in school which could lead to falling grades (Hafner). The worry is for both short-term and long-term health. The unknown of texting is what makes part of the affects so alarming. We have only dealt with texting for a relatively short amount of time. Who knows what it will be like in 50 years? That is why it is important to find solutions to the problem now and not when it could possibly be worse.
While there are no set instructions with how to deal with the new age of texting, there are things that can be done to help. First, schools need to recognize the problem and be more thorough with how they manage it. Texting and the number of users, especially young users, is growing. There are already children in school that have spent for as long as they can remember texting. More than likely, they were texting before they were learning how to properly structure a sentence. Schools need to recognize that and adapt to it. A step that could be taken is showing kids text slang, and how it is correctly written. Schools should start teaching that abbreviations like “gr8” are actually “great” and why the students cannot use the former in writing. Schools need to emphasize the difference between the two and instill the proper form in the students. Learning the basics is extremely important and could determine how you write for the rest of your life. Schools need to make sure they take that into account. Another step schools could take is having a designated time when the teacher and student go over the writing and the mistakes. As well as solutions and tips for the student. Some schools are exceptionally large and there are not enough teachers to give 3 students the attention they need to succeed academically. Designated one on one time would help that.
There are other tips and tricks and solutions you can try for you or your loved one. One important thing someone who is struggling with writing or spelling can do is, admit and recognize the words that they may struggle with and why they struggle with them. If you cannot admit that you are doing something wrong, you will continue to do it wrong. Something that people can do once confirming those words is to start writing out the words. Studies have shown that writing a word around 10-15 times will help students to learn the word (Shanahan). Writing a word 100 times will not do anything but give you a strained wrist. So, be sure not to overdo it. Writing on pen and paper in general will help you very much. It allows for you to experiment with unique styles easier than it would be on a keyboard. Another major step to take when discussing text messaging’s influence on peoples writing ability to write, is reading more often. When people read, they can see how words are properly spelled. From that they can learn how to properly spell it instead of using spellcheck. This will also allow for students to learn proficient writing habits and see proper sentence structure. Reading more often also allows for you to see and learn new vocabulary. Something else that can help students is, while on the computer, not relying on spellcheck or AutoCorrect as often. People should not need either of these often if they can correctly spell and have good grammar, however in this case, a student should use these tools as little as possible. This will force people to spell better and think about their word phrasing and sentence structure. Another way this can help is because a computer is not always right. Sometimes computers make mistakes and will “fix” what you are saying by making it sound worse. This can not only make you sound bad but could potentially confuse the reader of your writing. Also, people should not be afraid to look in the dictionary more often. Not only will you discover unfamiliar words, but it can help with possible spelling mistakes that you have made in the past. Something that teachers and professors can do to help students out is encouraging writing. Writing should not be a task. Teachers should make writing fun. This could be done by giving fun prompts or by giving the student more freedom. Teachers should also express the value of writing and how important it is in the future more often.
While there are things that can be done to help people become better writers in the time of texting, some may argue that texting has no real effect on students at all. In the minds of some people, texting and writing are two separate things. Texting is for informal and quick communication between family or friends. The public school system teaches them writing and they therefore know how to properly write and when to use it. The people who think that are correct. Formal writing and texting are different and should stay different. However, people still tend to use informal writing in a formal setting. A study can be pointed to that shows how people view texting and writing differently. In a 2008, the Pew Research Center discovered that 60% of teens do not think of these electronic texts as ‘writing.” So, clearly the point is that most students did not considered the two the same. The rebuttal that can be made is that 4 students still tend to struggle with using text lingo in schoolwork. Of course, not all students are affected, or at least as bad as others, but there is still evidence to show that teenagers and people are still affected, even if they don’t consider the two the same. According to a study done by the Pew Research Center, 50% of students used informal writing on assignments (“Writing, Technology and Teens.”). Students continuously use informal punctuation, spelling, and grammar because of their constant exposure to it from texting. Students will continue to use the informal and poor grammar and spelling on assignments until a change can be made. As for adults, adults should not struggle with writing as they were taught it in school, right? They know what correct and incorrect writing is, right? Because they grew up before texting, they can distinguish the two, right? This is not always the case. For an example, go look on Facebook or other forms of media and, if you look enough, you will clearly see some of the effects of texting on writing. However, that is not a valid argument. So instead, I will point you back to M.J. Warsi’s quote, “ “For example, I know with many of my friends, they often spell words incorrectly or in a shorter way because through texting it makes it easier and faster for them to get their point across. However, due to this, often times they end up forgetting the actual spelling of certain words since they are no longer used to writing it like that.” Warsi clearly shows that it does not matter if you are 10 or 40, texting and its characteristics can affect everyone.
It is unfair to say that everyone who texts will be affected negatively by it. That is not only unfair, but it is not true. It is also unfair and not true that all people who write bad do it because of texting. There have always been bad writers and spellers. Although, these problems have expanded from texting, and there are still substantial amounts of students and adults who feel the affects every day. Students will continuously use poor grammar and bad spelling on school assignments that will follow them into their lives later. The following quote from Yale’s Perspective, clearly shows the concern and affects. “The lackadaisical style of texting that pervades middle and high school writing automatically spills over to college writing and beyond. The pursuit of convenience and ease appears to be taking an unfortunate toll on good writing” (“Is Texting Eroding Good Writing Skills among Young Students?”). Parents and teachers will continue to worry about this problem while people will continue to give tips. Unfortunately, there is no set way to fix the problem, and there will likely never be one. However, steps can be taken that may help. Steps like, reading and writing more. As well as schools adapting to the problem. With just these simple adjustments, I believe progress can be made.
Works Cited
Bakken, Jim. “Could Texting and Autocorrect Affect Kids’ Writing Skills? – News.” UAB News, 19 May 2014, www.uab.edu/news/youcanuse/item/4697- could-texting-and-autocorrect-affect-kids-writing-skills. Burke, Kenneth.
“How Many Texts Do People Send Every Day (2018)?” Text Messaging Service for Small Business – Text Request, 18 May 2016, 5 www.textrequest.com/blog/how-many-texts-people-send-per-day/.
Hafner, Katie. “Texting May Be Taking a Toll.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 25 May 2009, www.nytimes.com/2009/05/26/health/26teen.html. “Is Texting Eroding Good Writing Skills among Young Students?” Perspective, 5 Nov. 2017, campuspress.yale.edu/perspective/is-texting-eroding-good-writingskills-among-young-students/.
Lytle, Ryan. “How Slang Affects Students in the Classroom.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, 13 June 2011, www.usnews.com/education/high-schools/articles/2011/06/13/how-slangaffects-students-in-the-classroom. “Poor Spelling of ’Auto-Correct Generation’ Revealed.” BBC News, BBC, 22 May 2012, www.bbc.com/news/education-18158665.
Shanahan, Timothy. “How Many Times Should Students Copy the Spelling Words?” Reading Rockets, 27 May 2020, www.readingrockets.org/blogs/shanahanliteracy/how-many-times-should-students-copy-spelling-words.
Singleton-Rickman, Lisa. “Does Texting Hurt Writing Skills?” TimesDaily, 2 May 2013, www.timesdaily.com/archives/does-texting-hurt-writingskills/article_81445a80-781d-5f82-b7ac-00f951cf10bc.html.
Warsi, M J. “Texting: Improper Grammar, Poorer Writing Skills.” The Asian Age, The Asian Age, 14 Sept. 2017, www.asianage.com/life/morefeatures/140917/texting-improper-grammar-poorer-writing-skills.html.
“Writing, Technology and Teens.” Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech, Pew Research Center, 30 May 2020, www.pewresearch.org/internet/2008/04/24/writingtechnology-and-teens/.
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