I’ve received many texts in the past that have genuinely made me wonder if the people who’ve sent them had forgotten how to use language. There’s no punctuation, no capitalization, and not even full words or phrases; instead, I received just a string of letters I had to decode just to understand what they were saying.
When I get a text from a guy, and he doesn’t know the difference between his “they’re,” “their,” and “there,” I can assure you it’s a red flag. If one of my friends sends me a message saying, “wht r u up too,” I wonder if I’m the only one who notices the absurdity of an adult being unable to type the full words or even use the correct form of “to.”
To be fair, I’ve occasionally been guilty of texting like this, too. Collectively, we’ve gotten so lazy and used to typing carelessly that we barely notice it anymore. But we should start caring a little more, because these shortened words aren’t cute or efficient in the long run, or even “just how people talk now.”
It’s confusing, embarrassing, and, honestly, it can be almost insulting to receive messages with poor grammar.
In an article titled “9 Texting Habits That Come Off as Rude—Even if You Don’t Mean To,” published on Parade, the author, along with etiquette experts Nick Leighton and Adrienne Alexander, dives into the idea that breezing through language decorum while typing and sending a message to a friend or family member can be perceived by the receiver as fairly insulting — like they aren’t worth the time to write something correctly.
Tierney Hill, a second-year University of Iowa student, has seen how a focus on efficiency has resulted in informalities, recognizing the increased value she places on language form.
“When someone sends me a text that actually has correct grammar and spelling, it is all the more meaningful to me because I know they took the time to message me with accuracy over convenience,” Hill said.
Frequent misspellings, however, have another caveat that makes the phenomenon even more baffling: autocorrect.
When texting and typing on computers and phones, we have all seen that little red line telling us the word we typed was spelled wrong, like if you say “thx” instead of “thanks.” Beyond that, autocorrect will also just change the word to the grammatically correct one, so when I receive a message that has these weird abbreviations and misspellings, I know the sender has either ignored or entirely turned off autocorrect.
Now, it is true that autocorrect isn’t always “correct.” For example, I spent five minutes trying to type “LSAT” in an email the other day, and autocorrect kept changing it to “LAST.”
However, I don’t think occasional errors are enough to prompt disabling it entirely, which I am convinced is what the people with the worst grammar have done.
Autocorrect’s purpose works to combat the language we have devolved to in the heart of digital development, with a heavy focus on efficiency and speed. By turning it off or reprogramming it, you’re showing how little you care about language integrity. Keeping it on can help lessen the effects of disapproving language, something we really need to start considering.
“I think texting in some ways has made us worse writers. When you are used to using predominantly informal language, it can blur the lines on what formal writing even is,” Hill said.
Our incorrect use of words and grammar has spread beyond just the realm of casual texting, though. It has seeped into the professional world, plaguing the language in emails, presentations, papers, and essays.
A study done by Pew Research Center in 2013 surveyed both Advanced Placement, AP, and National Writing Project, or NWP, teachers, where they communicated concern about the blurring line between “formal” and “informal” writing in the midst of increased student use of digital tools, where 68 percent of teachers say digital tools make students more likely to take shortcuts when writing.
“I have noticed writing is generally getting more informal amongst my peers in writing assignments in classes. For example, a lot of them abbreviate words or drop apostrophes,” Hill said.
The way we write when texting has gotten out of hand, and we seriously need to cut it out. If we don’t, we might entirely sacrifice not just grammar and the art of writing, but also the basic ability to communicate clearly with one another.