I Think Therefore IM

Texting has become such a large part of everyday life for not only kids but for adults as well that it is affecting the way we write and comprehend what is being written. Many times I have found myself using short hand in papers. The most common error I make is using 'u' instead of 'you'. This is only a problem because of the amount of time kids spend using either cell phones or computers. Most of the time these errors are not caught because we have gotten used to seeing and using the short hand. "You are so used to abbreviating things, you just start doing it unconsciously on schoolwork and reports and other things"(Lee 347). This is a prime example on how kids dependency on electronic ways of communication are effecting the way they use proper English. Some teachers see this way of writing as part of the evolution of our language.(Lee 349) In some classes students are encouraged by their teachers to use short hand as a spring board to get ideas for their first drafts.(Lee 349) Although this may help students with brain storming due to the fact they can use short hand like they do in everyday life, it also promotes to a certain extent that it is okay to use this lazy way of writing. The English language is one that doesn’t have set rules and is always changing. Some people believe that the era of texting short hand is just another faze in our languages vast history, but maybe in a way we are resorting back to a simpler time when we didn’t communicate to our best ability and many things were lost in translation. This particular writing brings up the question of what side you are on. Either you believe that texting short hand is deteriorating the fabric of our language, or you thing that it is bettering the way we communicate with each other. I firmly believe that no exceptions should be made for people that use texting short hand on term papers. It shows laziness, a lack of effort or, it shows that the person did not proof read.