Why is it that kids who use "instant messaging" use the worse grammar ever?

Question

My sister is always chatting away on her computer with her friends. I watch her sometimes only to see her spelling really sucks or that she wants to spell the words wrong just to "look cool." Why do they even do that? It looks like crap and doesn't even sounds stupid when you say it.

Answer 1

Teenagers copycat everything other teenagers do to try to fit in. Being accepted by a group is really important to them, therefore they do anything it takes to make new "friends". Besides, they try to have their own "language" or code, and save some time when typing. Of course they never think about the future, so they do not realize that typing like that in the messenger will hurt their writing skills, mainly the grammar usage.
Also, they are not "geeks nor nerds" to be writing correctly (according to them)

Answer 2

Children learn from the grammar they are exposed to. In most cases, this will be from their peers. If they are communicating on the internet, then they are learning their communication from what they see. Laziness and desire to communicate quickly leads to shortened phrases and shortcuts using other characters. In many cases these are these childrens' first exposure to communication by the written word. They are not given any reason to respect the grammar rules that already exist, assuming they even know any, so they simply use what seems easiest. Peer pressure is rarely based on logic, so trying to apply it is akin to pushing a square box through the round hole. It just won't work. "Everybody else is doing it." is a completely valid argument. I think if we encourage more of these children to read and get more exposure to the written word outside of what they see on the instant messengers, then they may at least grasp some concept of appropiate grammar and hopefully think to apply it when they have to write up their first job or college resume.

Answer 3

The reasons the grammar is poor when instant messaging is that usually people want to shorten the words to make it faster to type. This is especially common with text messaging on cell phones due to the use of the keypad rather than a normal keyboard.

Answer 4

Check this article out and it might help you understand the ideas and principles of typing in shorthand: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L337
With that said, I also think that typing in shorthand without a reason is completely ridiculous. I think a lot of people do it to fit in with their peer group. I think others do it to hide what they're saying from they're parents, brothers, sisters, or general family. For me, to type the word "whatever" is just as fast to type the net speak "w/e" for the same word.

Like another person that answered your question said, it's not going to stop. A lot of people I know that used to use net speak have stopped using it as they've gotten older. Simply put, there really isn't a place for net speak in many places except in use as code via instant messegers and chat rooms. Of course, this is just my two cents on the subject.

Answer 5

I just happen to be one of those kids. Every once in a while it's a typo because someo f us can type over 80 WPM (i can type about 100 WPM). But most of the time it's just to save us time to get the message across faster.

Answer 6

the word is 'worst' - '...use the WORST grammar ever'. Also, the sentence 'It looks like crap and doesn't even sounds stupid when you say it' does not make sense. You might want to work on YOUR grammar before you criticize.

Answer 7

Because they are too lazy to type in proper English.

I talk to my friends on AIM, but I would never use chat-speak. I wouldn't want to come off as stupid or lazy... especially to my friend who has a Master's degree in English!

Also, my friend, you might want to brush up on your grammar rules before criticizing others

Answer 8

Try not to think of it as "bad grammar", but a "second language".
A spin-off of English if you will...

Hey, it's not going to stop.
Might as well accept it as an interesting development in langauge and culture!

We're living in the future right now, man!

Answer 9

It's a lot easier to type words using "shorthand" and a lot faster. You can say a lot more with fewer letters using symbols and message slang. You should try it. Will save you a lot of time and no one thinks and more or less of you. It's fun!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 10

when you abbreviate things it makes your typing a little bit faster if you don't have proper typing skills. AIM can be a good teacher, but it can also teach you how to be lazy and look uneducated.