LOL, OMG, is ur fone takin cntrl of
ur life? R u failin english class cuz of grammer isshoes? R u so used to txtin
that u jus dnt care abt grammaticle erors anymre? Was the previous sentence
hard to read? Well for many teachers, professors, and job-employers it would
be. Recently I have read an article called, “F in Grammar? Maybe it’s Your
Phone’s Fault” by Alessandra Potenza about how phones are currently taking
control of the lives of our youth. This article focuses on how students have
become so caught up in text messaging and social networks that it’s almost
second nature to write as if you were sending out a text message.
In the article, Potenza says, “English
teachers, college admissions officers, and employers are all finding a lot more
grammar and writing mistakes than they used to. The problem seems to be
increasing in the age of texting, tweeting, and Facebook.” Although I am not a
teacher, admissions officer, or an employer, I completely understand what they
are saying. People have just begun to make acronyms for everything. Once, I even
received a text that said, “lsimhbyjwfetmmlol”. I was told that it meant “laughing
silently in my head because your joke wasn’t funny enough to make me laugh out
loud.” But when did that become common? When did people start using that? How was
I supposed to know what that meant, if I had never heard it before? No wonder
these college professors, admissions officers, or employers are denying people,
sending back resumes, or just simply skipping papers with sloppy grammar.
Also in the article, Potenza says, “O’Connor
argues that evolving grammar is perfectly natural and that teenagers don’t make
mistakes because of technology. ‘the mistake is just more visible’ she says.” I
am more on the opposing side of O’Connor’s argument. However, I agree that evolving
grammar is perfectly natural. Some people may have never been good at
spelling/grammar. On the other hand, some people may have been good at spelling/grammar
until they began text messaging, and using social networks. I think that people
should stick to the English dictionary, no need for an acronym for every word.
My advice to today’s youth? Stay in
school. Don’t let social networks get the best of you. It’s okay to use
acronyms for texting, tweeting, and other social networks. But in the
classroom, the English Dictionary knows best. Ttyl ‘ xoxo.
