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MESSAGING MANIA from World Report Volume 8
No. 25, by Kathryn R. Hoffman
Think fast! Translate this conversation into formal English. "Wass
↑?" "N2M, U?" "JC." "G2G. BFN" Stumped? The dictionary won't
help you, but our handy guide will.
If you figured it out right away, you are
probably among the 60% of kids online who use instant messaging, or IM.
Yahoo, MSN and AOL (which belongs to the same company as TIME FOR KIDS)
offer software that allows users to have real-time conversations in pop-up
text windows online. Instant messages are typed so fast that users
don't slow down to capitalize, add periods and commas, or spell out words.
As a result, new word abbreviations and IM slang are being invented faster
than a high-speed Internet modem.
KEYBOARD NATION. A typical
instant-messaging session lasts more than a half hour, involves three or
more buddies and often includes friends from different areas. More
than one in three IM users say they use it every day, according to the Pew
Internet and American Life Project. Nearly half of online teens
believe that the Internet has improved their friendships. It's a
quick, easy way to keep in touch.
Gabbi Lewin, 12, of Dallas, Texas, told TFK
Kid Reporter Daniel Bonner that she's on instant messenger almost
every day. She says that without it, "there would be no way to
communicate. Our parents are on the phone all the time."
Steven Mintz, 13, prefers messaging to the
phone "because I can talk to more people at once." Chatting online
is also a good way to keep up with friends who live far away. Kids
don't have to worry about running up the phone bill.
WRONG MESSAGE? Instant messaging is
not always a friendship builder. sometimes, kids use it to air angry
or hurt feelings. Such kids aren't necessarily trying to be mean.
Often it's just easier to say something online than in person.
Oliver Davies, 11, of Palo Alto, California, told TFK Kid Reporter Noah
Sneider that with IM, "I can express my emotions more easily, without
having the guilt of saying it face-to-face." (Or f2f.)
Many parents and teachers think kids'
instant messaging habits are taking away from more important things.
Julia Long of Bellingham, Washington, says that when her son, Taylor, 13,
is waiting for a beep, it's hard (for him) to stay focused on homework or
any kind of family activity."
Teachers get upset when Internet slang and
emoticons (smiley faces made with punctuation marks) show up in kids'
writing. Words that have tripped up young writers, including "its"
and "it's" now have been joined by "u," "r" and "wuz on teachers' hit
lists.
Kids' safety is also a concern.
Staying connected is fine, but an online friendship with a stranger is
not. Many parents monitor IM'ing, either by limiting time online or
by keeping the computer in a common area.
I.M. NOT SO BAD. Researchers who
study kids and the Internet say instant messaging isn't getting in the way
of real life. They note that new technology often triggers old,
exaggerated fears. "It's similar to what was said in the '90s about
video games and in the '60s about television," says Nalini Kotamraju,
coauthor of a USC Annenberg Center for Communication study on young
people's use of IM, e-mail, cell phones and other technology. "There
was this worry that kids would do nothing else."
Even parents and teachers who don't like IM
have to admit that at least kids are writing. And their typing
skills are improving. Is it at the expense of proper English?
Not so long as kids learn the difference between formal and conversational
English, says Naomi Baron, professor of linguistics at American University
in Washington, D.C.
"Language has always changed, and it always
will," Baron told TFK. "It must change as the things we do and the
things we encounter change." Wat a relief G2G. L8R. |
