The Reel Issue

There's no doubt that technology has made our society dependant on it's many attributes. The Internet is now labelled as a reliable source, and texting (or smartphones) have abolished the unheard of "face-to-face conversations. Except for in-person, speech-based communication, it could be argued that all communication is technologically based. With the advent of written language, humanity experimented with varying forms of technology to record their thoughts. From the stone tablet to parchment to the printing press to computers, our methods of written communication have continued to change, although several remain in use simultaneously. Communicating through an old technology - such as, sending a letter through snail mail - now produces a sense of nostalgia.

However, there is much debate whether or not texting, or online communicating, has deteriorated because of the development of the technology world.  

A concern about the ever-increasing amount of communication is that it represents the triumph of quantity over quality. Texting and Twittering, by their very natures, value short, punchy statements over lengthy, thoughtful analysis. Such forms of communication contribute to an overall dumbing-down of conversations and the ascendance of impersonal updates over personal interactions.

Has contemporary digital technology really changed language that much? If you look at writing patterns over the past fifty years or so, you’ll find that our notions regarding the importance of “writing mechanics” have shifted dramatically. Grammar? Don’t be so prescriptive. Punctuation? Follow more the way we speak rather than traditional rules for writing. Spelling? Isn’t that what spell check is for? It turns out that many of the “errors” we complain about finding in IMs or text messages have their roots in the writing of young people before online and mobile communication became available. As for abbreviations and acronyms, a quick check of history shows that such shortenings date back centuries, even millennia. With emoticons, while there are hundreds of options out there, empirical research indicates that unless you are a teenager or young adult wanting to show how “in” or “cool” you can be, the vast majority of people stick to at most a small handful.

Most of the time if someone makes a grammatical error, or a poor spelling choice, they will be the victim of Internet harassment. Students nowadays take spelling seriously, especially on social media sites. Often, the reacting to a stupid status, or a ridiculous tweet leads to the internet community slamming their faces on the table in utter despair over human existence. Given, they are being dramatic but sometimes, exaggerations are necessary. 
I truly do not believe that technology has affected the way we communicate, or spell, or even speak to one another. What I do believe that it has done is developed our society even further and in the terms of development, it can only mean up.