Croft1

Hannah Croft

Tucker

English

15 February 2011

Texting has negative and positive effects on society. How does it work? Has literacy played a

negative role in texting? What are positive effects on texting? All these questions have something to do

with texting, and how it affects literacy.

Texting was created and released for customers to use in the mid-1990s (Starvoit). Texting

refers to abbreviations and instant messaging (Vosloo). Texting uses SMS to gain access to any other

mobile or cellular device, with SMS services (Urmann). SMS means the sending of short messages

between two or more cellular devices (Hord). Literacy means the ability to read and to write.

Many people have negative views on texting, one in which includes the thought that using SMS

to send text messages, can cause health problems (Haugen and Musser 121). Texting has also started to

drive many intimate conversations away from family and friends. Face-to-Face conversations aren't as

common anymore (Starvoit). Because of this new, fast form of communication, texting has brought

new, but exciting challenges for teaching and learning (Vosloo). Many English teachers have begun to

see abbreviations such as, “BRB”, in many students' work. The use of shortcuts have even been seen in

a few colleges and universities during the SAT's (Courtney 41). The impact of text messaging related to

reading and writing is not well understood yet, but will be researched in years to come (Vosloo).

Texting is one of the fastest, most reliable ways of communication around today (Urmann). Cell

phones provide entertainment to most everyone who owns one (Courtney 63). About 16 million teens

and children have cell phones today, which leads most of them to text messaging (50). Americans in
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2006, sent nearly 65 billion text messages in the first months of this new form of communication being

available (55). Also in 2006, 23 percent of children, ages eight to twelve, had cell phones. That

percentage went up 12 percent from the previous year (51). Cell phones provide friends to keep in

touch with, and cell phones can act as the “glue” to many relationships (50). To many teens, cell phones

are their only source of communication, texting not calling though. Even though textisms,(the texting

language) are spelled incorrectly, they are still forms of English (Vosloo). Research says, “If children

show some difficulties in reading or spelling, it would be in spite of textisms, not because of it.”

(Vosloo).

Texting has negative and positive effects, but it can be used as an effective form of

communication. Texting has been a “booming business” since it started. Can all the problems and

solutions from it be solved in years to come? Can literacy be saved?