Texting Making You Lazy?

Ars Technica has an article about a new study by the Irish State Examination Commission that states that teens' writing skills have decreased due to the rising popularity of using text messaging. This is contradictory to a study from the University of Toronto that found the use of text messaging does not hurt writing communication. From personal experience, I think I agree with the Irish. Perhaps it is just that people have become lazier, but the lack of decent grammar and spelling that I see in emails, chats, and text messages is absurd. Now, I'll give you that it is easier to type "ur" instead of "you're," especially while texting from a phone, but that is no excuse to carry that same behavior into your other communication. As an aside, try using the intuitive text option on your phone, such as T9, when texting. This way, you can still use proper words and punctuation without a major hit to efficiency. That said, I'm willing to cut some slack when I get a text message that is like that. However, if I see an email that contains that type of writing, you re just being an idiot. Holding down the shift key before hitting the i, or at the start of each of each sentence, is not a difficult endeavor. Periods are also your friend, feel free to use them at the end of complete thoughts. Email is definitely a place that this does not belong, but it really shouldn't be showing up when you post a message on my Facebook either. You are sitting at a computer with a full keyboard in front of you; use it.