How is Text Messaging affecting teen literacy

How is Text Messaging Affecting Teen Literacy
In modern days, almost every student in college or university possesses a mobile phone. The funny part of it is that the students concentrate on their phones most of their time texting rather than making a call. The era of mobile phones has turned the communication approach where people used to make calls now to a short message texting (Plester, Wood and Bell 137). Texting being a common habit in the upper-class students is thought to have both negative and positive impacts on the literacy of the students. Teachers have reported receiving textism in most of the assignments that they give to their students. The paper intends to examine the effects of texting to the literacy of teen students. The paper shall explore both the negative and positive impacts of text messaging to the literacy of teen students. Additionally, the paper shall point out in a summary, the findings on the real actions and impact of the use of these text messages as far as literacy is concerned.
Studies have shown at some point that the use of text affects the literacy skills of people positively. It is argued that some of the abbreviated words that reflect in the message texts show a close correlation of high knowledge in literacy. Texting does not necessarily affect grammar of teens but helps in speeding up of communication. The results have been confirmed by a study done by Powell on the impact of texting on the effect of literacy of the students (Powell and Dixon 58).

Similarly, the use of short messages and abbreviation indicates a deeper understanding of wide vocabularies in English and strong grammatical grasp that allows them to use selective words in communication. Students use texting to keep updated about the changes in English since language keeps on changing from time to time. The use of texting enables students to understand the latest English words in English of which they transmit to their class work and in their general communication.
The majority of students when consulted about the impact of texting, they argue that texting is only a shortcut in interaction and communication. They indicate that the use of text reduces unnecessary time and cost that could be incurred in making a call. The argument gives some logic in the process of learning, where the saved time enables them to have enough time to concentrate on their studies. The use of texting to some extent has no strong impact on the deterioration of the literacy of the students.
The use of messaging, however, popular with teenagers, it has negative impacts on the literacy level in the current world. The use of texting is a destructive element in the grammatical standards of English. For instance, during texting, punctuation marks, and capitalization may be left out or ignored intentionally. The same punctuation problem is transferred to their class work as it becomes part and parcel of their writing (Cingel and Sundar 307). Similarly, students who get used to the short forms to communicate becomes lazier than those who do not use text messages. A study done on the reading speed and accuracy of students on written material indicated that those students who used short text messaging in their communication were unable to read fast and fluently. Those who never used text messages recorded high performance as they read quickly and fluently. It can be deduced that reluctance and shortcut affect the literacy of teenagers in school.
The use of texting has also displayed the incorporation of informal communication in the learning institutions. The majority of text messages are written in slang languages that are only understood by the communicating parties. The habit of informal communication develops among the youth making the products for most institutions to be a group of people who cannot express themselves formally, either in writing or spoken words (Cingel and Sundar 309). The text messages used by the teens affect their literacy negatively as their results deteriorate with time as they continue using the same words they use in text to express their points in class work.
The use of mobile phones among teen students has become an addictive thing. Students carry their phones everywhere they go reducing their face to social interaction as they keep chatting. When phones ring during class time, they cause disturbance interfering with the concentration of the rest of the class. The frequent disruption observed in classes lowers the performance of the student both in literature subjects as well as other examinable subjects in school that the students undertake. The main reason for the poor performance is the time that the students dedicate to texting even when they are in the classroom.
The majority of the warning that the media exposes about the use of texting by students confirms the impact of texting on the literacy of teen students in schools. For instance, students confirm by themselves that they use texts on the social sites such as Twitter, Facebook, as well as Instagram. The continued use of these informal texts confuses the students to differentiate between Standard English words from informal slang words that are used in the street (Cingel and Sundar 308). The students transfer the same selection of words to their class work. Mobile phones that students use for texting have programmed to accommodate less number of words. Some of the electronic gadgets used for communication have a selection of words when typing. The result of using texts leads to low reasoning and analyzing of data.
It is possible for students who cannot express themselves fluently to hide their weaknesses in the text messages. Instead of the student practicing by reading more storybooks and participating in debates, the majority of students opt for the use of messages. The problem with this mode of communication is that it limits the possibilities of the teens to improve their grammar and a strong command of English language. Teens are contributing to the slow death of English as a language as they continue ignoring the basic rules in English (Powell and Dixon 58). Texting should be the last means of communication allowed in schools to enable students to interact and socialize to expand their literature and communication level.
In precise, the use of texting among teens has impacted negatively on their literacy level. Although texting is the simplest way of communication, it should be discouraged as much as possible to reduce the time that is wasted by students concentrating on their phones. The communication capability of students using text message deteriorates just as their results in exams go low and lower with time. The use of phone destructs the learning process in schools. For instance, when the phones keep on ringing while a class is on the attention of students goes down. The use of texts has made students unable to distinguish when to use formal and informal language. It is advisable for the students to be advised to reduce the use of text messages to be able to develop their grammar and sentence structures.

Work Cited
Cingel, D. P., and S. S. Sundar. ‘Texting, Techspeak, And Tweens: The Relationship Between Text Messaging And English Grammar Skills’. New Media & Society 14.8 (2012): 1304-1320. Web.
Plester, Beverly, Clare Wood, and Victoria Bell. ‘Txt Msg N School Literacy: Does Texting And Knowledge Of Text Abbreviations Adversely Affect Children’s Literacy Attainment?’. Literacy 42.3 (2008): 137-144. Web.
Powell, D., and M. Dixon. ‘Does SMS Text Messaging Help Or Harm Adults’ Knowledge Of Standard Spelling?’. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning 27.1 (2011): 58-66. Web.