The Effects of Mobile Phones Texting and Auto Correction

The Effects of Mobile Phones’ Texting and Auto Correction

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ENG 108

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The Effects of Mobile Phones’ Texting and Auto Correction

It cannot be disputed that humanity has faced numerous developments in terms of technology and scientific advancement. Notably, these innovations cut across several spheres. Since the invention of the telephone, telecommunication has been on an ever changing trend and making communication easier for mankind. The invention of the mobile phone has had a huge impact on our language and literacy practices. The various modes of expression and the means of gaining new knowledge have had a huge impact on human communication. Most of all, the impact of the short message service (SMS) has been marvelous and has had far reaching impacts (Ekine, 2010). SMS is a text messaging service available to all mobile phone users. SMS is very popular and it has 3.5 billion active users which translates to 80% of all mobile phone subscribers as of the year 2010 (Ekine, 2010). Its advantage is that it allows the sending of short messages as an alternative way of conveying information as a substitute to placing a direct call.

Modern day cell phones have features that enhance SMS usability and suit the convenience of the user. In our case, the use of text messaging has been revamped from the basic service offered in 1982 at its conception (Ekine, 2010). This has seen transformations ranging from the simple use of 160 characters on a single page to the use of software applications that assist the user to better compose text messages. Capabilities like automatic letter capitalization, spelling correction, word suggestion, punctuation and language translation are all features of modern day cell phone SMS popularly called auto correction (Mobile Reference, 2007). This technological aid to the “written word” has brought with it various challenges to grapple with, especially its effects on language use and literacy practices. Also, the limitation in the number of characters used per page has encouraged the development of a specific language that applies to the text messaging platform. As a result the use of acronyms, short forms and abbreviations have generally replaced conventional words and sentence structure as we knew it (Carr, 2008).

Text messaging as a form of communication has been credited with many advantages but one is paramount, ease of use. Short messaging service is uncomplicated and therefore popularly used by the young and the old. It is fast too. An individual can quickly compose a message on his mobile phone while walking, driving or talking and not compromise his or her concentration to a high degree. The swiftness and rapidity in which one composes a text message has led to the development of specific languages and phrases used on the platform. Emoticons and smileys have gained in popularity and contribute in it being termed as “fun” and very interactive (Connelly, 2012). The creation of a new language suited to the specific conditions available to users on the text messaging platform has further created an interest in groups previously disinterested. The use of short forms and no real emphasis on grammatical and conventional language use has made it a good platform for people to communicate irrespective of educational and literacy levels. Auto correction as a feature has revolutionised the text messaging world, in that an individual doesn’t have to be too keen when composing a text message as the cell phone’s messaging application automatically gives suggestions and pre-empts what the typist is to insert as the next word (Connelly, 2012). Yet on the other hand, occasional autocorrection mistakes can cause mayhem and create problems. An example of this is the case of an autocorrection mistake created a belief that a gunman was on the loose and led to the closure of two schools (The Daily Telegraph, 2012).

The above reasons are often cited by teens and adults alike in their attempt to support the excessive use and abuse of the SMS technology. But as much as they seem appealing to the reader and user of a mobile phone, they come with a number of shortcomings that must be highlighted and addressed both at a societal level and education level. The text savvy in the society have invented commonly used abbreviations in texting: 411- all the information, OMG – oh my God, LOL – laugh out loud among others. Others are more cryptic and age specific such that it is difficult to decode an SMS just by reading at it passively. This is just one side of a coin that doesn’t tell the whole story. As the specific segmentation and control of knowledge through abbreviations, short forms and acronyms helps in privacy but heavily impairs the written and spoken language.

The ease of use of text messages carries with it a reduction in keenness because of its informal nature. In this light, text messaging tends to affect ones critical thinking ability in the long term. The effect on formal communication and the learning process as a whole are far reaching. As an 11th grade teacher, Mrs. Rikard, commented on her students writing that:

“They slip into the informal voice often, and that’s really a tightrope because you want them to find their own voice…, I have realized they very often write the way the way they speak and they speak the way they text” (Singleton-Rickman, 2009).

The use of numbers instead of words and inappropriate use of letters points to the increasing effects of text messaging; especially if done at early ages. The decline in writing skills witnessed in schools all over the world can be linked to excessive texting on the part of the students. Also, the lack of cursive writing ability and its subsequent decline is attributed to the same (Singleton-Rickman, 2009). The harm that is brought to the written word affects the communication process by imposing an informal way of passing information that is slowly but surely threatening the formal writing process and impairing learning at the basic level. Auto correction as a feature on mobile phones is responsible for the current state of language abuse as it removes the writer from the need to properly master any language proficiently. It is a tool that impairs the human thought process by spoon feeding information to the user, of which he or she may not be innately aware of. This may lead to poor usage of words, phrases and even sentence construction. The use of textisms as a new language also creates pressure on the conventional languages and brands them among different groups as archaic and irrelevant making their learning more difficult. This is in spite of the fact that most people acknowledge the strict difference between formal and informal writing. Finally, the text etiquette used when chatting, the list of chat acronyms and abbreviations are forever changing and keeping up with it is also tedious. Plus the impersonal nature of the digital world is slowly creeping into daily human interactions as a result of the metamorphosis of text messaging and all its online forms (Carr, 2008).

In conclusion, courtesy of the omnipresence of the digital text on cell phones and on the internet coupled with the popularity of the cell phone a lot informal communication is taking place. Unfortunately with this new technology development a different kind of thinking and sense of self accompanied it in which “we are not only what we read but we are how we read” (Carr, 2008). The use of cell phones to send text messages provides an avenue that encourages efficiency and immediacy as the object of communication, reducing our deeper reading abilities and making us “mere decoders of information” via use of acronym and abbreviations. “our ability to interpret text, to make and to manipulate information mentally, with various connections that come when an individual is not distracted while reading become separated and distorted in various ways” (Carr, 2008). The SMS is a very important technological advancement and its uses are innumerable but its long term effects on our language and literacy practices are far reaching. Over time the new language and use of symbols as a substitute to formal writing and means of communication could be detrimental. As a result, all our educational and technological use in this digital age needs to be carefully integrated with our formal communication to reduce the negative impact by encouraging a healthy use of the written form of communication.

References

Carr, N. (2008, July 1). Is Google Making Us Stupid? What the Internet is doing to our brains. The Atlantic. Retrieved December 3, 2013, from: HYPERLINK “http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/306868/” http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/306868/

Connelly, C. (2012). 13 cool things your iPhone can do you don’t know about. Retrieved December 3, 2013, from: HYPERLINK “http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/things-your-iphone-can-do-you-dont-know-about/story-e6freuy9-1226386268175” http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/things-your-iphone-can-do-you-dont-know-about/story-e6freuy9-1226386268175

Ekine, S. (2010). SMS uprising: Mobile phone activism in Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Pambazuka Press.

Mobile Reference (2007). SMS Language Quick Reference: Glossary, Abbreviations, Emoticon Art, Technical Details, and more. Boston: MobileReference.com.

Singleton-Rickman, L. (2009, July 15). Does texting hurt writing skills? TimesDaily. Retrieved December 4, 2013, from: HYPERLINK “http://www.timesdaily.com/archives/article_81445a80-781d-5f82-b7ac-00f951cf10bc.html” http://www.timesdaily.com/archives/article_81445a80-781d-5f82-b7ac-00f951cf10bc.html

The Daily Telegraph (2012). iPhone autocorrect error shuts two schools. Retrieved December 3, 2013, from: HYPERLINK “http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/weird/iphone-autocorrect-error-shuts-two-schools/story-e6frev20-” http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/weird/iphone-autocorrect-error-shuts-two-schools/story-e6frev20-