If you’re like many people, you've probably sent a text message like the one above—with abbreviated words and incorrect punctuation. After all, it’s just a text to a friend. She’ll understand what you mean. But would you write a sentence like this on a test or in an essay for school?
Some experts worry that too much texting and posting on social media will ruin kids’ grammar. After all, Americans send roughly 26 billion text messages every day. That adds up to a lot of textisms—the type of relaxed grammar and shortened spelling often used in texts. Experts are concerned that kids’ spelling and writing skills will weaken over time.
But others say there’s nothing to worry about. In a study of 10- to 13-year-olds, researchers found that most kids who used textisms still used proper grammar where it counts—in schoolwork.
