wht do u thnk of email txt wrtng?

Question

why do so many people have to type out their questions with such abbreviated writing? At the risk of sounding old and crotchety, I just wonder are we all really in that much of a hurry? Do you think this is creating a generation of people who don't know how to express themselves in writing anymore? Or is it just a result of all of the text messaging that is going on. In all honesty, without wanting to sound too snooty - when I read someone's email/question and it says stuff like "im here 4 u so hope u dont try 2 hurt me n my frnds.." I kind of think that the person must be stupid or really young or something. Seriously - I would like to know why it is that people don't want to type out their thoughts using the full english language.... answers from people who use this type of writing are appreciated!

Answer 1

Im one of the people who totally agrees with you. I don't understand why all the rush is necessary. To be honest with you, I sometimes go as far as to think that the people that use such abbreviations are either unsure how to spell a certain word, or are just slow typers / keypadders (on a cellphone)... It doesnt make sense why anyone would want to eliminate two or three letters from a word to get it typed faster at the expense of sounding totally unprofessional, informal, and well... immature...



I personally prefer typing entire words... Occasionally removing the last letter of a sentence ending in ING and replacing the G with an apostrophe -> '



I must however say that sometimes, when Im using SMS to send a message... each msg has a limit of up to a certain number of characters... Sometimes if i go over the limit, and thus going into the second SMS msg... as to save money, I go back and delete a few last letters in words, and do use 2, U, ppl, etc... In that context, I can understand why one would use it... But on the whole, for instance while chatting, you are not charged per character you use, so I can't see why one would use these abbreviations at all.



And you are right... the impression you get from chatting with someone who uses these abbreviations is that they are either young and immature.

Answer 2

I completely agree with you. I find it really difficult to read when they use the ‘text’ type writing. And yes, I think we creating a generation of people that can no longer express themselves in full thoughts and sentences. I don't even bother reading the questions that are written in this abbreviated style. It may be faster for the person typing it but it takes much longer for the person trying to decipher it. I actually think it’s a way of saying 'my time is more valuable than yours'.



If I were a teacher and received a paper written like this I would make them re-do it until it was spelled and worded properly.

Answer 3

I am one of these kinds of people, but I only use abbreviated writing in emails when it is appropriate for the recipient of the email. For example, I doubt someone would abbreviate in an email to their boss. If they do, you are absolutely correct. It would be very childish and unprofessional. But, when emailing their best friend it does not really give the same impression of uneducatedness (if thats a word). It does save some time, although not nearly as much as it is probably believed to. Like you said, it also becomes a sort of habit with text and instant messaging. I fully believe in using correct English and grammar, as well as very good vocabulary for most occasions, but at certain times it is not necessary and you can get your point across without long, drawn-out writing. Hope this helps!

Answer 4

No worries, I agree with you and I am apart of the generation of the 'net talk abusers. One reason why it's so popular is because of text messaging, especially on phones. The longer the message the more you pay, so abbrieviating the words like that is usually the way to go among teens.



Then there is the fact that because it's popular, many people just do it to follow the trend. Some just get used to abbreviating their words and do it out of habit.



I would say those that abuse the net talk aren't necessarily stupid, perhaps a little lazy when it comes to writing at most.

Answer 5

I find it pretty annoying, too. It takes much longer to read it and try to figure out what they are trying to say. I can understand it on text messages because you have to save on room since you are only allowed so many characters (plus, it takes so long to type one anyway), but there is really no excuse for it anywhere else. I think that it happens because of laziness, but also because of people being in a hurry, like you said. I would MUCH rather read something that it typed correctly than try and read something with numbers as words and with vowels left out.

Answer 6

Yeah... I hate it when people have to abbreviate everything. Call me crazy, but I think it's harder to type like that.