By now you've read or heard the news about kids, text messages and the dearth of precise, literate written communication for an entire generation. News stories report that young people can't seem to communicate without charming little ''emoticons,'' (electronic symbols and shortcuts) sprinkled throughout their e-mails and text messages. They can't express an idea without using symbolic keystrokes to punctuate their thoughts. They rarely attempt to write without using acronyms and ''code'' words that explain otherwise cumbersome, challenging feelings, like laughter or surprise.
According to Jackie Ream, former educator and author of ''K.I.S.S. Keep It Short and Simple,'' text messaging and the Internet are destroying the communication skills of our children. ''These kids aren't learning to spell. They're learning acronyms and short hand,'' says Ream, ''Text messaging is destroying the written word.'' Ms. Ream is correct. According to a National Center for Education poll, only about 25 percent of high school seniors are ''proficient'' writers.
In the words of one literate teenager (Holden Caulfield), ''That's kind of interesting and all,'' but the real news is that according to Pew Research, 64 percent of teens regularly incorporate shorthand like emoticons and acronyms into their ''formal'' writing assignments. This is troubling for many people, from English and writing teachers to corporations that hope to hire these young people one day. Foolishly, they cling to the notion that their most junior employees will be skilled enough to write a ''good news'' memo to a boss or colleague without using even one :).
Surprisingly, the same study revealed that 86 percent of teens agree that good writing skills are essential to their future. So, the challenge seems to be enforcing a set of rules for this generation, and defining what constitutes formal writing and what works better when texting friends.
This hand-wringing over the demise of written communication doesn't seriously concern me. People who want to write formally will learn to edit themselves and delete the fun shortcuts. Others simply won't become good writers, regardless of their emoticon use. Like millions of people who have spent years using e-mail, I can attest that plenty of adults (who never had text messaging pervade their adolescence) are fully capable of writing confusing or otherwise startlingly bad e-mail messages, memos or reports.
What disturbs me about the news is that verbal communication as we know it may come to an end with this younger generation. Have you ever held a conversation with a group of teenagers who own cell phones? (My husband and I do every day.) They look like they're listening, like they're engaged and interested in the conversation and then, with one little brrrzzz or vibration, they answer their cell phones and text someone even as they're speaking to you. They never speak into the phone. Not ever. They flip it open or look at it, hit a dozen keys, and close it again.
Whatever happened to ''Hello?'' Or even ''Dude!'' or ''Yo!'' Texting is part of everyday life for teenagers. We put at risk the art of conversation every time someone hits ''send.''
While it's difficult to break a habit, especially one that brings some satisfaction, let's try. Even just once a year. I'm proposing an annual ''no-text-messaging day'' that takes place in November in honor of the Trojan Room coffee pot, a watershed moment in electronic communication. In November, 1993, the now infamous coffee pot debuted on the World Wide Web. The pot provided coffee to researchers and scientists working in various parts of a building at the University of Cambridge in England. Unfortunately, some of the staff would make quite a hike for their next cup, only to find it empty. Their solution involved a computer and a camera to send images through the building, and showed everyone the status of the next pot of coffee. With one look, everyone could plan refills. The Trojan Room coffee pot was one of the early web icons. The camera was finally switched off in 2001, and the coffee pot auctioned on e-Bay.
So, let's commemorate that camera going dark and turn off the text messaging just once a year. Talk to someone instead.
Renée A. James
4 May 2008
http://www.mcall.com/news/opinion/anotherview/all-james5-4.6385886may04,0,2424908.column
