Communication in writing, sort of
March 26, 2009 (Thursday)
A new phenomenon on the scene is “texting.” I’m not into that, but I’m intrigued by how quickly a totally new vocabulary has come into being, a sort of “shorthand” for texting. I found a glossary of terms used in texting and counted almost 1700 “words” that people use when they “text” each other via telephone.
I think it is safe to say that the majority of people involved in this new activity are quite young, a part of the generation now referred to as “millennials.” Many of them are in classrooms, which makes me wonder, “If the teacher or professor announced to the class a list of 1700 new words they would be required to memorize within the week, what would be the response from the class?” Undoubtedly they would say “Teach” has lost his/her mind. No one could memorize that many new words in such a short time. Yet they have already done it.
Texting can be done, if undetected, during a class, in a movie, or even, as some have done, while driving. If you think a cell phone to the ear is a distraction, try writing a letter in a foreign language while maneuvering in traffic.
And so it goes, this life of ours, ever changing, challenging us to learn new things, to keep up with the times, to keep up with the “Joneses,” among others. I don’t learn new things very easily any more. I don’t intend to learn texting. I guess I’m getting old, after all. Oh, well, I’ve waited a long time for the privilege.