Luv 2 Txt | Teen Ink

Luv 2 Txt MAG

January 29, 2009
By Christina Costello BRONZE, Hopedale, Massachusetts
Christina Costello BRONZE, Hopedale, Massachusetts
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

You need to send a quick text to your mom to tell her soccer practice is canceled. In an effort not to get caught, you reach ever so slowly, skillfully, and one-handedly into your backpack. Drawing your bright purple handheld lifeline from the front pocket, you are careful not to press any button that will reveal your mission to Mr. Boring, who is yapping away at the front of the room. With the phone in your lap, you try not to look down as you type: “sccer canceled! pick^ @2 thx <3.”

Sent. You slip it into you pocket, fearing you will not be able to discreetly get it back in your bag. But wait … your BFF Lucy’s hair looked utterly ridiculous when you passed her in the hall on your way to bio. It’s unthinkable to wait until lunch to tell her. Only a horrid friend would let her saunter around with a mortifying hairdo! So, you repeat the sneaky process of texting: “Fix ur hair, its sticking ^!!!!” Now, not only have you just missed two whole possibly important minutes of Mr. Boring’s lecture, but you have furthered the decline of your spelling and vocabulary.

Could you understand the title of this article? Anyone who has ever texted or used instant messaging can. Most teens love to text. What our English teachers, parents, and future employers would prefer us to say is “I love grammar,” which most of us don’t. There are times when we have to use proper grammar and times when we don’t. The problem is that the line between when to spell-check and proofread and when to just type and send is becoming blurred and almost invisible.

The way we type when we use virtual communication devices affects the way we spell – not just when we’re in a rush, but on school or job assignments too. Ever caught yourself writing u instead of you in an ­essay for school? What about tho instead of though? In a world where instant gratification is everything, we simply do not take the time to add the few extra letters. Although teens today will eventually become the ones who set the standards for spelling and grammar, our elders are calling the shots now, and they tend to look down on spelling and grammatical errors. This could easily affect one’s grades or job opportunities.

Notice it or not, the words we choose, or rather don’t choose, when we use informal communication have significance. Rarely in a text message will a teen use the extensive vocabulary preached by our educators. Seldom do we see the word exultant for happy, morose for sad, querulous for annoyed, or ecstatic for glad in a text. We must reawaken this vast glossary of obscure and unused words if we expect to succeed on exams like the SATs that affect our future.

So, go ahead, work your fingers to the bone texting, but before you hit send, think about what you have written. Consider the words you chose and the way you spelled them and maybe, just maybe, you will retype your message.



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This article has 306 comments.


on May. 15 2009 at 9:46 pm
Shane Miller BRONZE, Bellingham, Washington
1 article 0 photos 7 comments
I luv this articl and i luv 2 txt. Let kids txt how they want, it's their problm

alyson! BRONZE said...
on May. 12 2009 at 5:34 pm
alyson! BRONZE, Bellaire, Ohio
1 article 0 photos 1 comment
I love using txtin words it is so fun. Way faster you just got to know where you are when you are using them.

PLP said...
on May. 3 2009 at 4:59 pm
I do use texting acronyms sometimes, as abreviations. But I think texting, is overall kind of annoying.

Catlady SILVER said...
on Apr. 27 2009 at 7:38 pm
Catlady SILVER, Tulsa, Oklahoma
6 articles 0 photos 14 comments
I love this article! me and my friend get in to some debates because he loves grammar and I dont use it very often

on Apr. 23 2009 at 3:22 pm
d3nyM3nOt BRONZE, Birmingham, Alabama
3 articles 0 photos 11 comments
this is so true. i have gotten in trouble at school for texting. i have even put c for see in papers,and when i got the paper back i felt like an idiot. we really should pay more attention to what we are doing to our brains.

Blahh said...
on Apr. 22 2009 at 7:53 pm
I do txt alot and i do type very bad cause of IMing so dont blame it on txting!

on Apr. 18 2009 at 3:53 am
Ren-P. PLATINUM, Tulsa, Oklahoma
21 articles 18 photos 45 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You must give up a life you’d planned in order to have the life that’s waiting for you." ~ Joseph Campbell

Great article! I always use proper grammar when I text! :)

Molly :) said...
on Apr. 10 2009 at 6:30 pm
I loved your article! So true nowadays, my friends are always texting during humanities class and stuff, they don't even pay attention to the lesson!

on Apr. 5 2009 at 12:39 am
Pamela_Rachelle SILVER, Eastview, Kentucky
6 articles 0 photos 6 comments
I totally agree with you! My friends always make fun of me because i take longer than 30 seconds to reply to a text, but it's because I dont typ lyk tis. Great article! :]

Spritz said...
on Apr. 4 2009 at 3:19 am
Spritz, Newark, New Jersey
0 articles 0 photos 13 comments

Favorite Quote:
.

I text alottt, but I still type properly.. :P

on Mar. 31 2009 at 1:28 am
iTrumpet42 BRONZE, Clarence Center, New York
2 articles 0 photos 9 comments
i always txt shortened words. if u txt longer wrds then u will run ^ ur fon bil

on Mar. 27 2009 at 1:48 am
Shelby Way BRONZE, Morehead City, North Carolina
1 article 0 photos 1 comment
I love to text a lot, but I always spell correctly, also while I'ming

on Mar. 18 2009 at 3:27 am
PlumbThePuma BRONZE, Eatonville, Washington
1 article 0 photos 5 comments
I also lov 2 txt lol and do it all the time and I havnt had to much of a problem with typing and im in a college prep. english class.

brinamcg said...
on Mar. 16 2009 at 9:07 pm
We all have freedom of speech but i get what ur saying

jessica said...
on Mar. 16 2009 at 2:33 pm
I disagree. My friends and I never text like that. Sure, we don't capitalize, but only the immature kids use words like that while the more popular kids spell out their words.

on Mar. 6 2009 at 9:04 pm
Elle Thompson BRONZE, Livonia, Michigan
2 articles 0 photos 39 comments
i luv txtin nd n da summer i fnd myself lmost nvr usin real wrds. so den wen i go bak ta skool i gotta member nt 2 wrte lyk thiz!

derosh said...
on Mar. 5 2009 at 11:26 am
Actually,I text messages with the longest way you can ever see but maybe it's because I don't text many messages.By the way ,I know many friends that texting messages shortening,and it's because they text many messages,so it's why this connected with texting how much.

OneChance GOLD said...
on Feb. 26 2009 at 8:52 pm
OneChance GOLD, Westland, Michigan
18 articles 8 photos 55 comments

Favorite Quote:
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥be who YOU want to be, not what OTHERS want to see. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

i dnt no wat u gi's r tlking about........... i dnt txt type i use full wrds.....

V1234 said...
on Feb. 25 2009 at 10:50 pm
i agree but i also dont agree because you could sent texts like that and start writing like it also but, if you don't write with short words like that then your messages will cost more and you phone bill might go high.

A Random Guy said...
on Feb. 25 2009 at 10:41 pm
I think that every one has the freedom to write however the they want. This is a free country after all isn’t it? Well I think it is and I believe that I can write a word any way that I want to. No matter what other people be it old or young think of me doing it.