Impact of Texting on Our Communication Skills

Yes, if you spent quite some time deciphering this cryptic code, welcome to the club. The club of soon-to-be-extinct humans who are considered to be sticklers for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and all that tosh.

Statistics tell us that on an average, adults below the age of 30 send and receive around 90 text messages a day, as opposed to under 20 telephone calls. Now, this may even be an ambiguous statistic, for a text message is assumed to comprise under 160 characters, whereas a phone call may last anywhere between a second to an eternity.

There are those among us who seem to walk, talk, eat, and breathe texts. And why not? Texting has proven as a cheap, fast, and efficient means of communication, as compared to the rest. It can be done anytime, anywhere, as long as you possess a communication device, and saves you from all the drama that is an inevitable part of face-to-face communication.

You read that right. The inability to make meaningful conversation is a phenomenon in our world today, and behavioral experts attribute it to the 'other' phenomenon that is texting. School teachers complain of receiving student essays that have smile icons and 'ROFLMAOs' in them. Parents crib when their kids send a text message, sitting across the room.

✦ You're in a line, waiting to buy movie tickets for a show that starts in minutes. The line is moving intermittently slow, because someone ahead of you is texting maniacally, "forgetting" to move ahead. The offending person is unapologetic, as he isn't even aware of having offended anyone.

✦ You're at a party where everyone, including you, is texting everyone, but anyone is hardly talking to anyone.

✦ You're having lunch with your friend, and all she does is type furiously into her phone, grinning like a cat, texting a guy she's currently crushing on.

As our messages keep getting shorter, so do the words, throwing grammar and spelling right out of the window in the process. Those familiar with the texting lingo have no problems in figuring out what they mean, but those belonging to the old school have trouble understanding something like Snd rpts 2day by 5.

We've seen how language has evolved throughout the centuries. 'Thou' became 'you', 'thine' became 'your', and frankly, no one bothered to be grumpy about it. Texting lingo's advancement at a maddening pace like this, is hard to keep pace with for many.

So, as the purists mull and mop over the death of the very essence of their language, they have to accept that the fast-moving world has no time for those clinging to the past. What hurts most, however, is the complete nonchalance of people and their "who cares?" attitude to rules and regulations that enrich our language.

It gets pitiful when modern communication extends its influence on the way we behave. Texting holds a vice-like grip over the language, and also transforms us into phone-obsessed loonies LOLing and ROFLing constantly. Our formal texts begin without greetings, and worse, even contain smileys. And the rock bottom to all this is that we just don't care.

Who would've imagined how far-sighted evolution was, when it gave us opposable thumbs which come in so handy while texting? Jokes apart, remember how it has been said that the only constant thing is change?

Well, the same applies to the manner in which we communicate. There was a time when many of us disputed the usefulness of a telephone, and yet, here we are with our indispensable phones, safely enclosed in our pockets.

Both sides need to be examined if we are to put forth a plausible argument. Therefore, as far as texting affecting our communication skills is concerned, there is just one way to settle the matter. Too much of anything is bad, and the same rationale applies here as well.

An unexpected text message from a friend living far away can add cheer to the lousiest of days. However, the menace of seemingly clandestine and incessant texting that goes on in our classrooms, is a definite shame.

Those cynical about texting can wax eloquent about the virtues of face-to-face communication, but we also have a fair share of motormouths who can push the limits of annoyance.

You know how too much of sweetness can be cloying, and therefore, unpalatable. It's pretty much the same with texting, or any form of communication. Keep it contained, and balanced.