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Mackenzie Tillis

ENC 1101

Professor McGriff

31 October 2019

How Social Media and Texting affects our communication skills

Have you ever tried having a conversation with someone and they are too busy with their nose in

their phone? Social media and texting have taken a huge impact on not only teens lives, but also many

adults in today’s time. We are living in a world where now everyone relies on technology to make it

through life. Texting and social media has caused problems with many people in which has effected our

communication skills, led us to having new connections with new people around the world, enlarged our

social interactions with people due to the easy communication that it gives, and gives access to new

information at our finger tips.

Thanks to social media, we have a way to communicate with others very easily. In some ways

this could be a dangerous thing. However, it comes in handy when you have family members and friends

in places that are not easily accessible to you. Through social media and texting, you don’t have to worry

about not staying in touch with them, now they are only a message or video chat away. Gerald Graff,

“They Say I Say: The Moves That Matter”, states “With just a few taps on a keyboard, we can be

connected with what others have said not only throughout history but right now, in the most remote

places” (166). In this statement, Graff is explaining how the internet and technology has transformed the

different ways of communication in the last several years. Being on social media, also allows us to voice

our opinions in a matter of seconds.

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An issue that most people have with the digital age is the fact that it is affecting people’s

vocabulary. With text abbreviation that shortens many different words, people fear that there will end up

being an abbreviation for everything. Although, text abbreviations can hurt your vocabulary skills, they

don’t have much of an impact on a person’s literacy. David Crystal, author “2b or Not 2b?” states,

“English has abbreviated words ever since it began to be written down” (902). People like to blame social

media for making people illiterate but in fact, there are probably other reasons. Lack of social and

communication skills are mostly to be found in young adults or teenagers. When teenagers go into the

workforce, they are unable to understand how to use business talk. Johnny C. Taylor author,

“Communication skills essential for tech generation” states,“Communication skills are among the top

abilities missing in workers today. While this skill gap can be seen in other generations, it is a real

concern for those now entering the workforce” (Library Database: Opposing Viewpoints).

Some people may argue that technology has gone further than what it needed to. However,

technology in many ways is increasing human knowledge tremendously. The Internet comes in handy

when you are needing to collect much needed data. Steve Pinker, author “Mind over Mass Media” says,

“Knowledge is increasing exponentially; human brainpower and waking hours are not. Fortunately, the

Internet and information technologies are helping us manage, search and retrieve our collective

intellectual output at different scales, from Twitter and previews to e-books and online

encyclopedias”(1031). Most information that you are researching now, can be easily found on the

internet. We use the Internet now as a source of information to collect data for any research that we need

to read deeper into.

In today’s world, humans use social media and texting as a way to communicate with others.

Some people argue that the internet, or technology has effected our communication skills. However, in

several ways, social media and texting has improved our communication skills by leading us to new

connections with new people around the world, enlarged our social interactions with people due to the

easy communication in which it gives us, and also using it as a source of information.
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Work Cited

Taylor, Johnny C. “Communication skills essential for tech generation.” 2019, USA Today, May

2019. p.04B. https://go-gale-

com.db23.linccweb.org/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=News&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsTyp

e=MultiTab&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=1&docId=GALE%7CA585384795&docT

ype=Article&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=ZXAY-

MOD1&prodId=OVIC&contentSet=GALE%7CA585384795&searchId=R1&userGroupName=lincclin_s

jrcc&inPS=true

Accessed 14 May 2019.

Pinkler, Steven. “Everyone’s An Author.” “Mind over Mass Media,” Marilyn Moller, Andrea

Lunsford, 2017, p. 1029

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Crystal, David. “2b or Not 2b?”Everyone’s An Author with Readings, edited by Marilyn Moller,

WW.Norton&Company, 2018, 899-907.

Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic

Writing. WW.Norton&Company,2018