Report finds texting a 'valid educational tool' Kids who frequently use mobile phone text abbreviations are unlikely to be bad at spelling or lack reading skills, a new British study has claimed. Dr Clare Wood, Reader in Developmental Psychology at Coventry University, studied the use of “textisms” – abbreviations such as ‘plz’ and ‘hmwrk’ — by a group of kids aged between …
My text messages somehow manage to use all of the letters of which each word is actually made up.
Look, it's very simple. If people want to type rubbish then it's up to them. In the same vein it is up to me if I ignore such messages, which I do, until such time that they decide to write in at least a nearly-decent manner.
How people get paid to study the use of text messaging by children is just beyond me. We used to live in a world where real things got done.
"How people get paid to study the use of text messaging by children is just beyond me. "
It's a valid investigation into human communication. I'm sure there are linguists who find investigations in particle physics bafflingly pointless, but to a curious mind, it's all good.
I am interested in how speech, signing, written language, maths and symbol processing in general relate to our understanding of mind, culture, knowledge, etc; to not be so, would be unscientific, in my opinion. And txtspk is just another (equally valid) symbol system.
"We used to live in a world where real things got done."
Baseless assertion of the day: nothing much of any value gets done without good theory behind it. How much science do you think consists of real things getting done?
That really is sad.
An 8 year old's world consists of school, home, a couple of friends houses and the park, yet they're already feeling a need for a constant wireless connection between the people at those places?
Holy crap I feel sorry for them.
Doesn't anyone use the brief moments they get alone to do some good old fashion thinking anymore? Does anyone still take time out of their day to just look at and admire their surroundings? Don't kids have an innate interest in the world around them? Hell even exercise would be a better way to spend your alone time.
But no. If you haven't been talking to anyone for longer than 5 seconds, out comes the mobile for some more "social networking". Can't ever shut that damn mouth, it might stop working.
Stop the world I want to get off.
Most eight-year-olds have phones because their parents like to be able to reach them when they need to.
This notion that before phones, computer games and TV kids used wander around gazing at nature in pie-eyed wonder is pure nonsense.
I didn't do this when I was eight, and no one else I know did. That was before computers, phones etc. All we had were bikes.
Were you Fotherington-Thomas in a previous life?
This being 70's and everything, sunny in the summer, blackouts because of the strikes in the autumn, snow in the winter and a loveley crisp spring.
And we could leave our door unlocked and never be burgled (not having anything worth taking)
I think the point the original commenter made was why does an 8 year old child NEED a mobile phone given that the world any reasonably caring parent would allow these children to inhabit is home, school and maybe a couple of friends houses. Would you let your 8 year old go wandering around the streets unsupervised on a weekend and think that was acceptable because they have a phone?
.. and that proper English spelling and grammar is taught as an antidote to txt spk.
If it isn't, those who use it outside the confines of texting are likely to be taken as uneducated chavs and treated accordingly. Few things make a more unfavorable impression than txt spk and bad grammar in business letters and e-mails or on the technical newsgroups.
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