There has been quite a few opinions on the issue of does text messaging and social media negatively affect student language and literacy skills. Teachers, especially, are portraying different viewpoints on this matter. With this being said, I would like to personally announce to teachers all over the country that feel that text messaging and social media networks are negatively affecting student language and literacy skills that they are WRONG.

While preparing my research for this issue, I found some interesting results. According to Lauren Barack, the author of the online article “Twitter, Texting Enhance Writing Skills, Says Expert”, the social media network Twitter can be very beneficial to the growth of a student’s language skills. The limit of using only 140 characters can, according to Barack help a student’s creativity and critical reading skills. The boundary helps make students use more ways, in less words, to express their thoughts.

Continuing with my research, I found a lot more articles that agreed with Barack and her point of view. In the blog, submitted by an anonymous internet blogger, “Can Texting Improve Your Child’s Reading Skills?”, the writer explains that “texting allows your kids to connect with the outside world in a new and socially acceptable way.” (para 4). Texting is simply just reading and writing, nothing else. A child’s knowledge can be enhanced with the use of text messaging. This article also shows that there is no negative correlation between texting and literacy skills. George Couros, the author of an online journal article “Texting Improving Literacy?” also shares this point of view. He states that since texting is writing and reading, “the more practice you get in writing and reading, the better writer and reader you will be.” This in fact, in my opinion is true. Students already prepare in the classroom to be a better reader and writer, so why not get extra help and learn outside of school?

Some teachers feel as though maybe it would be a good idea to include SMS text messaging and the use of social media networks into a lesson plan. According to Andy Carvin, the author of “Should Schools Teach SMS Text Messaging?”, the idea of including these different forms of writing and text into a lesson plan wouldn’t be that bad. He said that students can make their own abbreviation glossaries and compare these to the syntax of text messaging and formal English writing. By teaching this type of lesson in the classroom, students will be able to understand that there are different languages that exist in the English language. According to this written by the NEA online article, Twitter is used as an educational tool. This article highlights how twitter can be used in the classroom as an essential earning tool. Mayo, an eighth grade teacher, uses twitter very cleverly. He comes up with the idea of a short-story type of book by using twitter. Students were able to tweet one sentence (140 characters or less) and contribute to the story. Interestingly enough, kids from six other countries also contributed to this great idea. 

After conducting a thorough interview with a ENC 1102 professor, I found claims that support this point of view. Lindsay Anderson, an English professor at the University of Central Florida, was the person that I interviewed. When asked the question "do you feel that incorporating a lesson using social media and texting would be beneficial to student language skills" she responded saying that "I believe that text messaging and social media can be helpful if students learn to write for the appropriate audience. What I mean by this is, text messaging and social media really help students think about their audience. They write with a high awareness that other people will read their writing." This is true. Students text their friends a completely different way they would text their parents. From a personal experience, I can relate to this. While texting my friends, I am more lenient with making spelling errors and taking out some letters in words. However, when I text my parents, I make sure it is formal because of two reasons; my parents do not understand text message "lingo" and for the mere fact of respect from me. Professor Anderson continues on with saying "...if students are asked to write a professional paper or an academic article, they need to be aware that the writing should be more formal in order to be read as credible and appropriate for the situation. I completely agree with this. As a student who uses social media and text messaging every day, I feel as though it is NOT a hazard to my language skills. As long as students are able to differentiate when to use formal, academic writing, and when to use more laid-back, casual text message writing, there should be no problem. 

In addition, text messaging and social media have more positive effects on student writing and literacy. In an online news article, a reporter for the Daily Mail wrote the article "Texting: Does It Help Children's Literacy Skills?". In this article, the news reporter states that "Scientists discovered that rather than destroying their use of English, texting improves children's ability to recognize rhymes and speech patterns" (para 2.). The use of abbreviations has improved children's abilities to understand words and recognize them in their normal state. This article came from a British reporter. So not only is this issue in the United States of America but it is also occurring around the world. 

In a survey I found online, 54% of the surveyors agreed that students are "carrying over the writing habits they pick up through text messaging into school assignments" (line 1). 18% (525 votes) agree with a "maybe". They say "although text messaging may have some impact on how students write, I don't think it's a significant problem" (line 2). 25% of the people agree with "No. I believe students can write one way to their friends and another way in class. They can keep the two methods separate" (Line 3). And the last option was "None of the above" and only 3% of voters picked that option. According to the survey, a little more than half of the surveyors believe that bad writing habits from text messages are being carried into academic writing. Although this information doesn't correlate with my opinion, I feel as though showing the other side of the issue is beneficial in getting my point across even better. 

Children can improve their literacy skills through schoolwork, english lessons, etc. But who would have thought literacy skills could be improved through text messaging? Jude Garvey, the author of the online article "Could Text Messaging Be Beneficial for Children's Spelling and Reading?" explains how text messaging improves children's literacy skills. "Texting also appears to be a valuable form of contact with written English for many children, which enables them to practice reading and spelling on a daily basis". Lesly Lanir also shares this point of view. In her online news article titled "Text Messaging May Improve Literacy Skills", there is a study done to show the correlation between text messaging and phonological skills. Texting allows the person to condense what they want to say into a 160 character text message, which therefore enhances their skill. "Texting provides a platform for young people to create and practice phonemic activities that enhace phonemic awareness" (para 13.).

With all of these being said, I hope that as teachers and educators of the future of this generation, and of generations to come, you take into consideration the valid points I have brought up in this blog. With your help, students all over the world can develop better reading and writing skills.