Many forms of media have emerged over the decades. Some die while others stay and thrive. Over the past few years, a sensational digitalized type of media has loomed into the modern world; it is called the new media. Although new media has beneficiated society with rapid access to information and easier communication, it has also enclosed the public within the world by making them vulnerable to ignorance and disunion. Media commentator Sherry Turkle gives an example of the damages new media can cause through her book excerpt “Connectivity and its Discontents”, and author Dallas Spires who also gives an exemplary of this case through her essay “Will Text Messaging Destroy the English Language?”. With all the popularity and misuse society has …show more content…
Through the decades, languages have been altered, becoming more understandable to new generations. But this new written language that has arisen, is only comprehensible to those who “have a good understanding of syntax and grammar already” (Spires, 124). As explained by Dallas Spires, text messaging “uses different grammatical standards and many abbreviations…spelling is ignored…and verbs are not conjugated” (124). This form of media is used within an exclusive audience-mostly teens and young adults to communicate their thoughts and ideas with ease. Many people fear that this new form of written English replaces current modern English. If the mistreat of written English continues, a new form of incoherent and unconstrained language will be created for upcoming generations. The new media is making society commit these grammatical errors in the English language to simplify ideas. Using improper grammar through new media is becoming a crummy habit that will pass on from generation to generation if is not regulated or put to an …show more content…
In the excerpt “Connectivity and its Discontents”, Turkle writes another encounter with a young American lawyer named Randy. Randy resides in California alone and all his family is living in New York. A few days before departing to New York, his sister Nora made the announcement of her engagement and wedding date by sending an email to a list of friends and family, including Randy. Randy protested the way his sister used new media to inform him about this intimate joyous event, instead of calling or telling him personally. When Turkle spoke to Randy, he said “It doesn’t feel right that she didn’t call…when I told her I was upset… [Nora] said that she and her fiancée just wanted to do things simply, as simply as possible. I feel very far away from her” (193). Although Randy was very affected by the way this new media kind of isolated him from his family, he is also a frequent new media user. During their conversation, Randy could not let go his attention off his blackberry. She states “He holds it in his hand during our entire conversation. Once, he puts it in his pocket. A few moments later, it comes out, fingered like a talisman” (193). The twist here is very paradoxical because of Randy complaining about this new media affecting his sister but is affecting him as well. Some people realize the changes new media has done to society but naively do not know they are a victim as well, making them
In “Connectivity and its Discontents,” Sherry Turkle discusses how often we are found on our technology. Turkle states in her thesis “Technology makes it easy to communicate when we wish and to disengage at will.” In the essay are interviews on several different people, of all ages to get their view on the 21st century. Teens are starting to rely on “robot friendships,” the most communication teens get are from their phones. Are we so busy trying to connect to the media that we are often forgetting what is happening around us?
Are technology and the media shedding the very fabric of the existence we have known? As technology and the media spread their influence, the debate over the inherent advantages and disadvantages intensifies. Although opinions vary widely on the subject, two writers offer similar views: Professor Sherry Turkle, director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self, in her article “Can You Hear Me Now” and Naomi Rockler-Gladen, who formerly taught media studies at Colorado State University, with her article “Me Against the Media: From the Trenches of a Media Lit Class.” Turkle asserts that technology has changed how people develop and view themselves, while at the same time affecting their concepts of time management and focus (270). Similarly, Rockler-Gladen believes media and its inherent advertising have had a profound effect on the values and thinking of the public (284). I could not agree more with Professor Turkle and Ms. Rockler-Gladen; the effects technology and media have worried and annoyed me for quite so time. The benefits of technology and media are undeniable, but so then are the flaws. People are beginning to shift their focus away from the physical world to the virtual world as they find it easier and more comfortable. The intended purpose of technology and media was to be a tool to improve the quality of life, not shackles to tie people to their devices. I no longer recognize this changed world and long for the simple world of my youth.
It's taking over our lives. We can do it almost anywhere. What is it? It's texting! Texting is a reliable, easy and convenient form of communication that is most commonly used by, but not limited to millenials and those in the workforce. Many people use it as a way to express themselves as well. In Michaela Cullington’s article, “Does Texting Affect Writing?” she targets two different attitudes in relation to texting. Cullington explains that there is often an assumption that students who use abbreviations when they text, will bring those same abbreviations over to their formal writing pieces. Cullington then adds that the other attitude in relation to writing skills and texting insists that texting is harming student’s writing capabilities. Because of her research as well as experiments done by other colleagues of hers, it shows that
Turkle’s stance on this topic is emotionally engaging as she uses rhetoric in a very powerful approach, while also remaining unbiased. The article flows very smoothly in a beautifully structured format. The author maintains a composition that would appeal to the interest of any sort of audience. She effectively questions the reader’s views on the negative consequences technology has on social interactions. Her work is inspiring, it sheds light on the dark hole society has dug for themselves, a state of isolation through communication in the digital age; this is a wake up
Is texting killing the way human beings communicate socially to each other. Is texting ruining language as we know it today. These are questions we are asking ourselves today. In the video John McWhorter: Txtng is killing language. JK!!! and the article Is text messaging ruining English? by Jane Solomon Explores how the English language is being changed by the teenage population.
In the article, “Is Texting Killing the English Language?” The author focuses on how people think that texting is ruining the English language, but he argues that it is not. The author used specific examples in which he uses to support his claim that texting is just creating its own grammar just like writing. This article can be written in a different perspective such as a different Language, or for a different audience, and it will have some changes in order for it to be a good article. If this article were to be written for a different time, It would not be a good article because texting is a new trend that is going on today in society, so the whole point of the article will change and it will be useless. If this article were to be written
As we keep emerging into the future, we tend to depend more on communication to an extent that it is not a “part” of our lives anymore; it’s one of the requirements of survival. It is nearly impossible to function as an employee, a student, or an individual without the basic forms of communications. In today’s world, a person’s “contact number” is like a virtual ID or a national security number that happens to be taken into account internationally. Not only that, but television and sources of news are becoming more and more appealing for viewers as they become more integrated with internet. If not television, then mobile is definitely becoming the biggest source of mass media. Even when individuals don’t look for sources of media and news, news tend
As you walk around just take the second to notice that almost everyone you passed is quickly twiddling their thumbs across their phone screen. Ding. Someone’s iPhone just received a new text, two-seconds later, Swoosh. Did you figure out what the New Age English Language is yet? Yes, you are correct, texting. Since the first text message was set on December 3, 1992, our english language has been growing and evolving and it not stopping yet. Critics will claim that texting is destroy our english language as a whole. These critics do not understand that texting has formed from our modern day english. When thinking of texting, many fail to see that texting has become one of the newest form of the english language. In order to have a successful educational experience, one must be able to incorporate the benefits of texting which include having a strong understanding of grammar
The English that is spoken today vastly differs from it's older versions. Over time languages will evolve as older words become antiquated and die as new ones are invented. This process is accelerated with technology enabling us to communicate easier and to more people than ever before.
Texting is one of the most popular forms of communication in today’s society. It has changed the way we communicate from person-to-person. It has made sending a message, or having a conversation much easier and simple. It has also changed the way we communicate for the worse. In John Humphreys writing “I 8 txt Msgs: How Texting Is Wrecking Our Language”, he’s strongly against the use of texting due to its negative effects on the English language, and he has strong reasoning to back it up. With the use of texting abbreviations, auto-correct, and the reduced amount of time being spent reading literature, the English language is subsiding. With advancements in texting and technology happening everyday, there is
Language is a form of verbal communication via words and its pronunciation that is used and comprehended by various people of the same nation, culture, or geographical background. It has been said to be dated back as far as one thousand years ago before writing. Like culture, language is passed on through the process of enculturation. Meaning that it is something that is learned (Kottak, 101). In the video, “TED TALK: Texting is killing language,” Ted starts off the video by saying that “The idea is that texting spells the decline and fall of any kind of serious literacy, or at least writing ability, among young people in the United States and now the whole world today (Ted, 2013). Throughout the film discussion, what stuck out to me the most was how drastic language has changed via technology. Although Ted disagrees with the above statement, in my opinion, I believe that a language can be altered if it is changed by enough speakers and writers. With the constant use of various forms of technology, communication via texting has become a very popular leisure activity for people all o...
In the sources that I found about text message and teen literacy, it showed and also informed me on how teens take the next talk to the classrooms in schools and how it creates bad grammar among themselves. During my research I found out that many kids and kids use shorthanded text and it affects their literacy in so many ways. We as teens don’t think that our findings will benefit anyone unless they want to have a short knowledge in grammar. As teens we don’t really see how doing something wrong can harm us. Such as texting shorthanded, and with silly faces. It affects our literacy by not knowing how to correctly punctuate their words, grammar and speaking. In the research that I looked up, that teens send about one thousand eight hundred
Since the Industrial Revolution, technology has permeated and become an integral part of our everyday lives. In fact, a life without technology seems almost impossible to imagine. Almost everyone, around the globe, has access to technology in one form or another. Consequently this type of technology has become ingrained into our culture. Its roots are so deep that it is now peculiar to see someone without a smartphone than with one. Consequently, smartphones and the Internet have radically changed the manner in which we communicate and how we communicate with one another. Our speech has metamorphosed so much from that of our grandparents that it almost seems like a foreign language due to the incorporation of slang and “text talk.” With the sudden surge of email, blogs, and instant messaging that occurred within the last couple of decades, the impact that technology has on our linguistics has become more pronounced. Technology has helped to bridge the gap between people by allowing us to communicate as easily as we breathe. On this note, one would think that the dawn of the Era of Technology would give birth to a renaissance of the English language but, instead, the converse is taking place. With such widespread prevalence of technology such as smartphones and computers, the degradation of the English language is a problem now more than ever.
Since the advent in the early 2000’s, texting has had negative affect on today’s language skills. Social isolation isn’t the only phenomenon accompanying the era of texting and social media, being able to spell and speak proficiently is a skill that is slowly dissipating with each passing generation. As auto correct and word shortcuts become available and instantaneous, our need to learn how to spell and use words correctly becomes irrelevant.
“Technology is supposed to make our lives easier, allowing us to do things more quickly and efficiently. But too often it seems to make things harder, leaving us with fifty-button remote controls, digital cameras with hundreds of mysterious features.” (James Surowiecki) Whether or not is known, technology has become too heavily relied on. It is replacing important social factors such as, life skills and communication skills. While technology is created to be beneficial, there must be a point in time where we draw the line. Once face-to-face conversations begin to extinguish, this means that there is too much focus on the “screen culture”. In her writing, “Alone Together”, Sherry Turkle talks