Tyler Rozell

Composition
Professor Lohmeyer
11/27/16
Proper Language Leaves No Room For LOLing
Young adults are the most avid texters by a wide margin. Cell owners between the ages
of 18 and 24 exchange an average of 109.5 messages on a normal daythat works out to more
than 3,200 texts per monthand the typical or median cell owner in this age group sends or
receives 50 messages per day or 1500 messages per month, (Aaron Smith, 1). There are many
opinions that go around when texting is talked about; especially when it comes to teenagers.
There are many people that think that texting is ruining our writing and language skills, while
others think that texting isnt to blame and it is not affecting these skills. I am torn between the
two sides and would agree with both sides on some points. Texting is a part of life these days,
but I think it is important to see the bigger picture. Even though texting has become a part of
todays culture, people need to know when the texting language is appropriate.
To start it off, the first thing you need to know is, what is texting? As dictionary.com
states, Texting is an electronic message sent over a cellular network from one cell phone to
another by typic words, often in shortened form, as l8t for late, on the phones numeric or
QWERTY keypad.
A lot of researchers have great arguments saying that texting is affecting teenagers
writing ability. For example Jacquie Reams. She is the author of K.I.S.S.; Keep It Short and
Simple and is where her feelings about texting are expressed and how it is a bad thing and is
destroying teenagers writing ability.

Some thoughts she has expressed are, Somewhere out there is the mind that will
produce the next great American novel. If, however, that would-be author is under the
age of 18, the words he or she writes may be more of SOZ and TGGTG than
beautiful, flowing prose. These kids arent learning to spell. Theyre learning acronyms
and shorthand. Text messaging is destroying one line at a time. Theyre learning
acronyms and shorthand. Text messaging is destroying the written word. The students
arent writing letters, theyre typing into their cell phones one line at a time. Feelings
arent communicated with words when you're texting; emotions are sideways smiley
faces. Kids are using typical shorthand jargon that isnt even a complete thought.
Another person against texting is John Sutherland. He points out, As a new variety of
language, texting has been condemned as textese, slanguage, a digital virus. It is bleak,
bald, sad, shorthand. Drab shrink talk Linguistically it is all pigs ear it masks dyslexia,
poor spelling and mental laziness. Texting is penmanship for illiterates. John Humphrys also
argues against texting by saying, Texters are vandals who are doing to our language what
Genghis Khan did to his neighbours 800 years ago. They are destroying it: pillaging our
punctuation; savaging our sentence; raping our vocabulary. And they must be stopped. These
are just a few of the authors and people that are against texting in society and there are whole lot
more. As you can see they have very strong opinions against it.
On the other hand, some tend to side with texting and the use of it. John McWhorter
argues the difference between speaking and writing. People were under the impression that they
should speak the way they wrote, using proper academic language and sentence structure. If
nobody speaks the way they write, and we text the way we speak, why should texting reflect

proper grammatical structure? In a research study done, Amber, a junior at Sacramento State
University, was questioned. Her response to communicating through texting was, The only
negative effect I can see is that I like, communicate less in person and on paper between family
and friends because it is much more accessible to be able to send a quick message or text. I
usually dont call people as much as I used to because it is just easier to message them and its
much more convenient. Cynthia Ryan, a Ph.D., associate professor of English, takes a little
different approach to the issue, but in the end I believe she sides with texting is ok because she
says that it is a thing that we are going to have to accept.
She explains, New Technologies will, as they always have, influence how we
gain and us knowledge. This kind of shift can be frightening to those of us who learned to
use language through a different approach, or who value some aspects of English that are
currently being dismissed as less important. The fact is that what constitutes literacy
changes over time. For any of us to be effective communicators, we have to be able to
adhere to conventions that other share.
I do not know if I side with texting or if I side against it. When I did research for this
paper, I found numerous amounts of people siding one way for the other. I found it hard to
choose a side because I agreed with both sides to a certain extent. I understand that there may be
some downfalls to texting. However, I believe texting could be better managed by users. I think
this could be done by using proper grammar and spelling words the correct way, for a start. The
only part of texting that may be hard to change is the acronyms people use because people are
lazy and it is easier to just put an acronym. I agree with some of the authors and people above
and how they explained how they stand on the issue. The ones that I agree with are Jacquie

Reams and her stance that slowly our correct language is being tossed aside; John McWhorter
and his stance that there is a time to use text language and a time to use our formal, correct
language; and Cynthia Ryan and her idea that people are going to have to accept texting, but they
also need to adapt and change.
Even though I agree with all those authors, Tonya Perry, who is an assistant professor of
curriculum and instruction in the UAB School of Education, is a person who has the same stance
on this issue as me and I would have to agree with the most. She explains that texting is
something that is ok, but teenagers and people need to know when and where is the time to use
it.
She states: It is up to the parents and teachers to remind youngsters when and
when not to use it. Basically, how students write should fit the audience and occasion
for which they are writing, Perry said. When students text, theyre writing in a
particular genre and for an informal audience. Texting as a genre has space
considerations and expectations, which warrant using abbreviations for phrases such as
LOL, symbols like 2 for two, and just as few characters as possible. On the other hand,
when students submit a final paper, they have written, revised and edited in another genre
and for a more formal audience. In this case, of course, wed expect the words to be
complete and correctly spelled. I think this quote is exactly where I would say I stand on
this issue. Teenagers that text need to know when to use the texting language.
Now, that sparks a question, when is the right time to use the texting language? I
believe this texting language is acceptable when there is a non formal confrontation or
conversation. This would include when talking with friends, at home talking to siblings, or

something along the lines of a relaxed conversation. I would also think it is acceptable when you
are texting with a person like a friend. When I dont think it is acceptable is when it is a formal
conversation. This would be if you are giving a speech, talking to a teacher, if you are in a job
interview, if you are talking to any adult, or if you are having any form of an adult conversation
with anybody. Also, along with having a conversation through texting, I think it is not acceptable
to use texting language while having a formal conversation even if it is through texting. You
should still use proper punctuation, capitalization, and grammar.
Texting is a part of life these days, but I think it is important to see the bigger picture.
Writing and language skills are important things that cant be put into the background. Texting is
something that should be talked about, most everyone does it. Many people are against texting
and what it is doing to our language. However, some people think that is ok. I believe texting is
something that needs to be accepted, but people need to learn when to use the proper language
and when to use texting language. As a teenager today, prove Jacquie Reams wrong, be the
next would-be author at the age of 18 to write the next great American novel.