Remember
when mothers said "use your words" when kids would not speak clearly? I wonder if we need to revisit that lesson. Now TV anchors are using abbreviations in their news reports. A sportscaster reporting on an athlete who was suspended said the reason why was because of P.E.D. I know
P.E.D stands for performance enhancing drugs, but others might not. Can you imagine a person learning english watching the news trying to figure out what P.E.D. stands for? PDA in the 90's stood for Personal Digital Assistant, now it means public displays of affection. A colleague told me she has had to mention to candidates she was interviewing that "lol" does not belong in a resume or a cover letter. I have a friend who has a colleague, a high school teacher who is at the brink of frustration because he is tired of grading homework papers from students filled with text language. This generation has become the abbreviation generation where the English language is
becoming a hodge podge of acronyms we use when we text and when we talk! God help us all!
Abbreviation communication is becoming a real problem in my opinion. Are we in that much of a rush that we and those we communicate with do not deserve a full conversation? Once in a while a quick abbreviated message in a rush is fine, but as the norm, I find this completely unacceptable. If you have more than a sentence or two, pick up the phone, meet up with the person or at the worst send an email (which is just one step above texting as far as I am concerned). I googled text abbreviations and on some websites there are as many as 4 pages worth and new ones are being created all the time, I cannot keep up! There is even a pop group whose name is based on a popular text acronym , LMAO which stands for Laughing My A** Off. Can we go back to the days when groups had decent sounding names even if it was a state or a city (Kansas, Boston, Chicago),The family name (The Jacksons, The Osmonds, Jonas Brothers), or something safe and fun sounding (Culture Club, The Rolling Stones, The Jets, N'SYNC, One Direction) with real talent, but that is for another discussion.
The concern I have with this abbreviation disease is that it is harmful to our communication and social skills.
Cris Rowan, a pediatric occupational therapist, States that our ability to communicate and connect is being greatly affected.
"We're seeing very, very young children being given these devices to
soothe them and to entertain them, and it's displacing the connection
with the parent," said Rowan. "We're seeing escalating diagnoses of all
sorts of mental illness in children. And when we think of what is mental
illness -- it's children that aren't happy and aren't well-adjusted."
A
British neuroscientist warned that Internet use may be rewiring our brains
and leading to attention deficits. Attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder concerns Rowan in addition to the
possibility that children are growing up becoming more detached from other
people as they grow up.
"As children and parents are attaching more and more to technology,
they're detaching from each other, and we know as a species we need to
connect," Rowan said. "We're really pack animals. We need to be
connected to other human beings. That's just a fact for any living
organism; it doesn't do well when it's on its own."
The ability to manage our own emotions
and behavior is being undermined, as well.
"These children are not entertaining themselves, they're being
entertained by a device so there's no creativity, there's no
imagination, no self-initiation," Rowan said. "These things are very,
very important for sustainability and your own self-gratification and
happiness when you're older."
100 years ago, you had to talk to people face to face as written correspondence could take a long time by mail and was only used when absolutely necessary or they had personal servants to deliver messages, 30-50 years ago, you had to communicate face to face, by phone or in writing and people usually used full complete sentences. Today people break up with their boyfriends/girlfriends, friends, or terminate employment over text message. I recently had an office assignment where the guy who hired me had his assistant notify me by text that my services were no longer needed as they hired a permanent employee for the job, no phone call, no meeting in the office, nothing! (How is that for professional?). Is texting technology creating a group of cowards who cannot deal with human beings face to face anymore?
While abbreviating everything my seem cool, what will this say about us to the rest of the global village? We are becoming more globally connected we need to present ourselves like we have some common sense! A businessman running a multi million dollar business here or abroad is not going to be looking at someone who cannot communicate in full sentences with clarity and articulation. LMAO may sound funny when you are 15, but what about as an adult looking for a job or trying to communicate with potential clients for your business? I also speak to the adults who utilize this form of communication on a regular basis, it is time to go back to basics, we know better!!! I fear for this generation and the older adults who use this as their primary means of communication; they are going to be left behind if they do not take the time to expand their vocabulary and exercise it. Put down the androids, IPODs IPADS, IPHONES, and other electronic devices and talk to each other!!! Sometimes the things we have to say will be uncomfortable (like a break up or a job termination), but we owe it to ourselves and those we interact with. Give to others and demand of others the benefit of a full rich conversation abbreviation free.
Stay connected to your humanity and the humanity of others, tell the whole story, speak in complete sentences, USE YOUR WORDS!
