Teenagers are Not Destroying English Through Text Messaging

Language in society is constantly changing, especially in the world of a teenager and their communication among their parents and teachers.  New words, known as slang, are invented so frequently that it is the new trend in the world to keep up with it.  Teenagers are the ones that are sucked into slang either from the outlets of social media or daily conversations with their peers.  It is quite difficult for parents to keep up with slang words and often have trouble understanding their teenagers when having a normal conversation with them.  Slang is repeatedly used throughout text messaging as well, which became popular when the cell phone was invented.  Numerous individuals believe that text messaging has created negative impacts on younger generations in the classroom.  It is also believed that slang from text messaging will be presented in a student's work, but a lot of research shows how just the opposite usually occurs. 

It is generally assumed that text messaging does not contribute much to an individual's learning and the slang used within the messaging is not appropriate or proper language.  According to the article, Is Text Messaging Ruining English, most teenagers do not write out the stereotypical abbreviations such as "lol" or "omg."  Also, text messaging is a combination of both formal and informal types of writings.  Research from a survey showed that most teenagers comprehended the need for capitalization and punctuation in formal papers, such as the ones written in the classroom, but opted to leave out these rules of grammar when sending a text message.  Teenagers and young adults are fully aware of proper English and the ways to communicate within a school environment which is why seeing text messaging slang in papers and work of teenagers is rare.      

Even though teenagers are not likely to engage in using text messaging slang in the classroom or professional instances, it is still important for parents to encourage their teenagers to gradually stop the use of slang in order to help prepare them for their futures.  Webspeak: The Secret Language of Teens, states that parents should help their teenagers to end the overuse of slang in order to prevent any problems with their college careers and employment opportunities.  College professors will not appreciate reading papers that include various slang terms because it will sound and be considered uneducated.  Teenagers should be motivated to shut down the slang and proofread every single thing they write to make sure they are prepared for the future.   

The article, Texting & Its Positive Impact on Teens, stated that text messaging has the ability to create an interaction between teenagers and the written word.  Text messaging has a feature called text-speak, which enables the teenager to speak the words they want to text, that is positively related to their reading abilities.  It was shown that teenagers engaged in text messaging did not necessarily have numerous spelling errors in their academic work and their literacy skills improved greatly.  

Overall, teenagers have invented a new way of speaking language that does not necessarily make sense to adults know as slang which is used frequently throughout text messaging.  Teenagers and young adults understand the appropriate forms of English and communication which is why they do not include text messaging abbreviations and slang in their writing in school. 

Teenagers engaging in texting messaging can have positive impacts on their academic work.
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