Reasearch Questions

Is texting, lolcats, or other forms of online communication harming or improving

people’s ability to communicate in writing or in speech?

 

Communication is reaching the point in which speech and writing skills are being affected by the uses of text and other forms of online communication.

 

With the increasing usage of texting and online communication, there seems to have also been a increase in shortening words in the English language to make it more convenient for the users to voice what there are saying for example on my way becomes (omw) and too much information becomes (TMI). This becomes an issue when "text speak" becomes applied to life and people are using these terms to communicate to others who might not have the same understanding of the term Studies have shown that in schoolchildren that children who text have more trouble with formal writing as opposed to those that have never texted at all (Plester,Wood, & Joshi, 2009, p. 137). This might be caused to children being more impressionable than an adult would and would pick up the habit of using text speak in life situations.

 

 

Plester, B., Wood, C., & Joshi, P. (2009). Exploring the relationship between children's knowledge of text message abbreviations and school literacy outcomes. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 27(1), 145-161.