Social Media Creating Classroom Slang

Periodic Table of Texting (b&w) Poster

​As texting and social media have taken a dominant role in the lives of young people, the exposure to slang has increased significantly. Because of the nature of typing, it makes sense to abbreviate common phrases so that communication is simpler. This dynamic code is universal for all speakers of the same language, with dictionaries online dedicated to the explanation of modern-day lingo.

Since this new beginning of communicative style has taken a grip-hold within society, the relationship between students and their informal writing has drastically altered. In one sense, students consider texting to be informal writing and so are more likely to draw upon text speak during class and for work, but they can also slip into text speak during formal writing, which is certainly not the same.

Although making an effect in the scope of vocabulary used by young adults, research shows that over-all literacy is not affected by the use of texting and its associated slang. In fact many believe that by incorporating new words from modern styles of communication, it is encouraging creative expression. In this sense, the slang and abbreviations act as literary tools to express self in ways novel to the more traditional style. 

As a whole, having computerised phones can only be a positive step for education, if used properly and for the right reasons, and over exposure to text lingo can possibly cause a drop-off in the learning of new and more comprehensive vocabulary styles. Communication isn't just about getting the point across, it's about getting the sense of the point across too, and this takes  a consideration of words which text speak fails to offer.