The fact that our generation writes more than any other before us is astounding but understandable. I don't think that the use of abbreviations and text language affects a persons ability to write academically. I believe it will affect the generation after us as they are being introduced to social media and technology a lot younger than we were. The next generation will be more likely to have made a tweet or Facebook status before they have written a university or high school level paper which could influence the style in which they write. Abbreviations make texting and tweeting more convenient. I am far less likely to read a paragraph long Facebook status than a sentence or a statement with 140 characters. I think the reason we are inclined to shorten our social media posts is to keep our audience interested.
Writing a paragraph over text message is time consuming and inconvenient so abbreviations are necessary today as we are far busier than before. I don't think using abbreviations in text is going to affect how we socialize or write academically as we are aware of what is socially appropriate and what is not. I'm not going to say "lol" if I am told a joke, I will actually laugh. Abbreviations are an appropriate way to express emotions that can not be expressed physically through a computer screen.
I agree with you the most part. However, when we use abbreviations we need to make sure the readers understand our point.
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