Is texting really hurting the literacy skills of today’s students?
You hear it all the time that texting is bad for the learning of formal reading and writing. Both parents and educators are very quick to jump in and blame texting for what seems to be the corruption of literacy. When I was in high school and did poorly on a homework assignment or test the first form of punishment I received was to have my phone taken away so that I could no longer text my friends in the afternoon. Was this form of punishment truly beneficial? In today’s society, high school students especially can be seen with their phones attached at the hip constantly texting one another. However the skills and techniques that many of these students use on their phones may be skills that are in reality helping and improving their literacy. Texting should not be looked down upon, but rather embraced within the classroom and used to promote various ideas and concepts surrounding literacy.
First, it is important to recognize that the definition of literacy has evolved over the years and no longer simply refers to a student’s ability to read and write print. Plester and Wood (2009) expanded this definition by stating that literacy is the “ability to decode information in various orthographic formats, including digital media, to make meaning from it, and to encode information into those formats to communicate ideas to others” (p.1109). With the steady increase of technology in today’s world, and the fact that adolescents are among some of the most technologically current people, it is important to embrace this more broad definition of literacy and recognize that literacy can be multimodal. As Nick Sousanis (2015) demonstrates in his book, Unflattening, literacy can be much more than simply printed words on a paper. Through the use of images accompanied by text he proves that concepts can still be communicated without long, drawn out sentences that are traditionally found in textbooks.
After recognizing that literacy can no longer be viewed as traditional in today’s world, maybe we should stop being so quick to judge texting as a “scourge” to the learning of adolescents. John McWhorter (2013) opens up the discussion of texting as a form of language that in fact has a type of complexity to it. McWhorter makes his point that texting is not detrimental to the development of adolescents’ literacy contrary to the popular belief. He explains that there is a concern for the lack of rules among texting because we have been used to the traditional blackboard way of teaching. However, McWhorter states that there is in fact an “emergent complexity” in texting and a new development of structure.
It is important to note that this is not the first time in history where there has been concern over a supposed threat to traditional literacy. McWhorter provides examples dating as far back to 63 A.D. when there was concern for the people who were not properly speaking Latin, when in reality an entire new language, French, was being developed.
So, if there is an “emergent complexity” in texting, the next question to ask is how can we use this as educators to our advantage in the classroom? Adolescents will continue to text and use their phones to communicate with friends and family, so rather than criticize this it should be encouraged and incorporated in an educational way to improve students’ literacy. Steve Vosloo (2009) discusses how this new form of communication can present new and constructive opportunities in the classroom. Corresponding with the expanded definition of literacy, texting can be used to encode information and communicate ideas. “Digital communications allow learners to instantaneously communicate and collaborate with peers” (Vosloo, p. 6). Students already use their phones to have discussions, tell stories, and share ideas and pictures with their other classmates. So, we should continue to build upon this by incorporating education into a daily task already embedded into students’ lives. More specific lesson examples provided by Vosloo that past teachers have introduced include translating text heavy, classic pieces into text talk, and creating an online chat room where students are free to use casual writing and have discussions about pieces of literature. Vosloo emphasizes “it is necessary to explore all avenues that increase youth exposure to text and attempt to frame the creation and consumption of content as a social exercise, using the technology that is in the hands of the youth” (p. 7).
McWhorter, J. (2013, February). John McWhorter: Txtng is killing language. JK!!! [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/john_mcwhorter_txtng_is_killing_language_jk?language=en#t-803124
Plester, B., Wood, C. (2009). Exploring relationships between traditional and new media literacies: British preteen texters at school. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 14 1108–1129.
Sousanis, N. (2015). Unflattening. Harvard University Press.
Vosloo, S. (2009). The effects of texting on literacy: Modern scourge or opportunity? Shuttleworth Foundation.
