What is SMS doing to language? Personally, I think SMS is doing many things to the language. For starters, I think it is taking away from children, adolescence in particular, in their ability to use proper and correct grammar. Myself, I text so often that while I am writing a paper for school, I sometimes type, i instead of I or u instead of you. I see it and correct it right away but for younger children who are just learning the fundamentals of grammar, this may be a more difficult transition and distinction for the them to absorb in their ever so spongful, moldable brains. I have also noticed the younger generation speaking as if they were texting. For example,the abbriviation OMG, to actually saying the letters, O-M-G. With this, it is changing the way in which people, younger people, speak. This is a minor example, but it is still a change in which SMS has brought to us.
As people, SMS is taking us into a whole other realm of technology where we almost depend on having a smart phone by our sides. We can now order food from the touch of a screen (Jimmy Johns app is my fav) and now we can donate by the swipe of a finger. Honestly, this scares me a little. The ease of accessibility of buying and donating seems a little too easy, so easy my kids can do it! I have two children, going on six and two, who love angrybirds. I recently seen on the news that the apple company has an ongoing lawsuit from the past two years indicating ipads and iphones lack parental controls. The issue started when parents noticed their kids were racking up their itunes bills. http://www.valleynewslive.com/story/21377315/apple-to-hand-out-itunes-credits-in-settlement
This frightens me because I have children who play with my iphone and tablet on a regular basis. What has this world come to? I can’t say all is bad. For every great product, there is trial and error. Now, apple knows they need to have better control settings to avoid law suits.
My point with the apple was, even children are figuring out our electronic devices. Heather Mansfield states, “teens now would have a hard time living without a smart phone and older adults are adopting this technique more quickly and as a result, the transition to the mobile web is occurring more smoothly from the Static Web, to the Social Web.” (179) Her statement is completely true. My parents didn’t even know what texting was six years ago, now, they have even learned how to send me pictures from their smartphones. My mother in law also recently purchased and iphone5 and is loving facetime.
Another Aspect of SMS that I find interesting is Text to Give. This also kinda freaks me out a little bit because of the ease of accessibility. I have not seen any organizations implying this feature yet, but I am sure it is on the rise. It is very convenient and can be done with ease. Again, this scares me a little because of people with small children who know how to work a smart phone. I would be scared my child would get ahold of the site and donate hundreds of dollars I just don’t have. But, that is the only draw back of mine. I do think for organizations it is a brilliant idea. It allows easy access, conveniency, and is time efficient. It is also very private. Some people don’t like to talk face to face, some don’t like to talk on the phone and also, some just don’t want to be bothered at all. This feature allows a lot of control as a customer/donator. Just remember to monitor your monthly cell phone bill and always, always, monitor your children.
Not only texting has made advancements in the past few years. I have been watching my twitter feed and have noticed an organization, WWF (World Wildlife Foundation) recently asked their followers to adopt a Polar Bear for National Polar Bear Day. The short message engages the readers thoughts, and then, the organization provides a link for further details. Upon entering their site, you have the option to Donate, or Adopt. That simple. All from the hook of a few words through twitter. Adopt a Polar Bear. Another twitter headline said “can you caption this photo?” I found the heading engaging because I wanted to see the photo. This tweet alone hooks the reader to want to see more from the web site.
After all is said and done, SMS has made a huge change in the world today. From the way we talk, to how we write and type to how we pay bills, donate and make our purchases. SMS is evolving right along side with technology and does not plan on slowing down. (178)
heatherflute 