Like omg did you see her? Oh no way! I’ll be over rn. Lol. Okie ttyl. Amazing it is how much texting has become such a powering way of communicating with one another. Technology in general really, I suppose. There’s email, text, DM’s, IM’s, Snapchat, tweeting, all these ways of communicating but hardly ever do we see ourselves making actual calls. And why is that? Because we find sending a quick message is faster. Easy, quick, and efficient. Yes, that’s what we all want. We don’t realize how much of an impact this way of communicating is because it’s become a norm. Although this way of communicating is easier, what about how if affects our language? Language is even affected through the ways of how we may abbreviate words and express ourselves. We cannot be fully understood emotionally through text messages and emails because our voices cannot be heard through a message. When we speak…when we speak is when we are heard and understood. There are other’s who can agree with me when I say, technology has taken power as a prime source for communication and language. Let’s take a look at a few resources. As a first source I will use David Crystal’s “Texting: Why All The Fuss?” Crystal makes his argument that texting has become a form of language. He states, “Texting is just another variety of language, which has arisen as a result of a particular technology” (page 366). Technology gives people a shortcut in their everyday communication with one another because it allows them to get their message sent and done quickly. It’s sadly taking over the beauty of actual vocal language and communication. We can find that sending texts and emails have become way more common than a typical phone call. The way we write our text messages have impacted the way we speak to one another as well. Because “texting is one of the most innovated linguistic phenomena of modern times” we can agree that it does impact our language and emotions on how we feel about our technology. Funny how just ten years ago or so we did not have this easy communication, we would have to write letters and notes. Let’s talk about emails now. Emailing is the new letter writing. Sending emails transformed the structure of writing letters as a communicative tool. It brought new etiquette, as well as new conventions and acronyms. For example, FWIW (for what it’s worth), IIRC (if I remember correctly) and FYI (for your information). When email is “used to communicate anything sensitive, important, or complicated” Ron McMillian says, “it can be the kiss of death” (375). McMillian’s statement can definitely be agreed upon because we have all been there before; when we send a message to someone with a different tone intended than received. Technology does not give us a voice, rather it just sends our words. Our words are words till we can hear them, because when they are just written and written incorrectly they will give the wrong message. In “Lost in Translation” by Alison Stein Wellner, Wellner presents the effects of face-to-face communication versus email. She says, “new research indicates that overreliance on e-mail can degrade an organization’s interpersonal communications” (page 374). Thinking about this statement, Alison makes a point; because if we become too dependent on technology just because it may seen faster and efficient then we do not allow ourselves the opportunity to make real connections with others. Emails can be good for only so much; and we will find that actual communication versus our technology-based communication is more
