In his article “How Much Has Social Media Changed Society?” Gil Pizano states the following: “Social media allows individuals to gather and express themselves in a much more simple and immediate fashion. By giving people this capability, they not only have the ability to share ideas, opinions and other contents, but also (if they wish) gain notoriety, and expand their influence.” The evidence of this is undeniable but it raises the question; are the individuals aware that they may be revealing much more about themselves than they actually intend to?
After reading a number of online posts, it quickly became evident to me that there is a critical need for the continuing development of language and literacy skills. The effectiveness of a post depends on how engaging the post is and how easy it is to understand – the reader should be able to ‘get it’ quickly without having to interpret what the writer is trying to say.
Do we have the courage to acknowledge that the quick and easy communication styles of social media, text talk and internet slang eliminate the need to know how to spell and construct sentences correctly. Everyone knows what LOL means – larf, larph, laugh out lowd or loud – but please don’t SHOUT AT ME! You can use ‘like’ anywhere in your conversation and writing because you know, like, everyone, like, does it, like and you just do!
This poses another question; are we losing the skills and therefore the ability to express ourselves in a meaningful and interesting way? Some would argue that good language and literacy skills are just not that important anymore. I suggest that the opposite is true as the audience we reach in our social media posts and communications has grown enormously.
Post your thoughts on this topic.
I believe literacy skills important when using social media as it develops a more positive attitudes toward writing and to become more confident in their writing abilities.
Technology gets a bad wrap. It’s often the antagonist blamed for the degradation of society and in particular the literacy competency of our Millennials. However, literacy and numeracy are the very foundation of technology! In HTML language unless you get the combination of letters and numbers JUST RIGHT it won’t work! The actual building blocks of the “internet” are cemented in numeracy and literacy accuracy. The skills we are building in our future generations will of course need to include a focus on the foundational skills of LLN to ensure that we continue to progress and improve.
I enjoyed this comment below “I agree that LLN skills are more important than ever given the prominence of social media today. Few things invite silent judgement from our peers more than displaying a lack of understanding regarding the use of the words: there, their, and they’re: your vs you’re. My personal bugbear is the use of apostrophes in plurals!”
If the communication is easily understood by the audience then it is sufficient.
Language evolves over time and over different platforms. Literacy skills are important in professional environments but they are not required in relaxed social environments, such as social media. However, it is important to remember that social media is not private. People do not have the time and energy to constantly consider strict literary expectations.
In the past few years social media platforms have become less about text and increasingly about content in the form of images, videos, sounds, short form stories and live streams. I think literacy skills are more important than ever, not for the creators, but for us the consumers. With technology today anyone can create content. It is more important then ever to have skills to work out fact from fiction, identify a reliable source and and recognize when someone is trying to persuade us to buy something we don’t need. The purpose of social media has changed in recent years and as a consumer we no longer hold the balance of power. We are now being delivered a never-ending stream of content on devices that we carry with us all day long. I think literacy and language skills won’t tip the balance back to us, but hopefully means we will question the amount of influence we let it have.
Proficient language and literacy skills are just as important today as they have ever been, however I don’t agree that social media is the reason why these abilities are often lacking. It’s hard to find a shop sign that doesn’t have an apostrophe in the wrong spot. And whether writing on social media or via a more formal method of communication the multitude of incorrect uses of their/there/they’re or know/now/no or to/too/two are endless. I do agree that a social media post is definitely far less influential if there is a grammatical error though, because my focus shifts to the structure of the sentence rather than the overall message.
I don’t believe that social media and quick and easy communication styles eliminate the need for strong language and literacy skills. I think they contribute to the evolution of these skills and can be integrated in to how we currently communicated to form new norms as we move forward.
I don’t believe the types of slang used on social media platforms today eliminate the need to know how to spell and communicate effectively online. It can be a fun and playful means of communication, a creative outlet, communication and the English language have always evolved and should continue to do so. It is okay to add new words to the dictionary, millennial-themed words. But it is important that everyone can differentiate between the two. One is formal, and the other is informal. Everyone in our society should have basic literacy and numeracy skills.
Good language and literacy skills are more important than they have ever been because we are using written communication more than we ever have. We can start arguments, receive diatribes on how wrong we are, and cause people to vilify us because there are always at least two ways to read something. There are no second chances when it comes to the written word and peoples’ judgments.
The Interactive model of communication draws our attention to the fact that communication between individuals or groups does not occur in a bubble, and that when analysing communication we must be aware of contextual influences. Appreciating the particular communication styles used in social media is important in determining their effectiveness. In the same way that ‘emojis’ would not be appropriate in a formal communication model, the use of strict grammar and rigid adherence to ‘traditional’ communication styles on social media may detract from effective communication. It is clear that we need to teach communication skills, but that this needs to include understanding of the environment and influencing factors upon communication.
My thoughts are that literacy is essential for effective communication. I do believe we are losing skills to express ourselves, even more our attention spans to listen, and absorb information are also affected by this.
I have found that social media and the ease of using emoji’s, gifs or abbreviations has made people ‘slack’ when communicating with others. Why express the way you feel about something meaningfully when you can just give a ???? or ❤. Our younger generation can no longer spell as they text in abbreviations and holding a conversation with them can sometimes be worse. In order to build effective relationships with others, communication is key. Social media can easily be taken out of context where a good old fashion conversation ensures understanding.
Because of the quick short hand nature of social media platforms we are moving further and further away from the traditional delivery of literacy and ideas. The devices and platforms we use encourage short hand, abbreviation and acronyms in place of well flowing well thought out expression. The proper use of language and intelligent presentation of an idea should be seen as a way of distinguishing the presenter, aid in retaining the attention of the audience, and promote thoughful relection on the part of the reader. With preactice and discipline we should be able to achieve this in any communication media, including social media
There is definitely a need to recognize your audience when using social media as to when using short, sharp and abbreviation is going to work for your target market and the message you are trying to get across. However, in a professional setting and when you are needing to get across an important message through social media, Language and Literacy skills need to be perfect as to not come across unprofessional, cheap and devalue your brand.
I think for literacy and language skills to develop, there needs to be a balance, where individuals can enjoy all the fun of social media AND still partake in language and literacy experiences beyond the screen. But the challenge is that as social media domination grows (and this becomes the main way people find their community and tribe), and we as humans become more used to this instant fix of ‘small bites’ of information and entertainment, it becomes more difficult for everyone to engage with long form media such as reading a book, a biography, a university coursebook, a 1000-page long journal or scientific textbook, and the question is where do we even start to entice people back? Without those kinds of influences to make their mark on our psyche, giving us the ability to expand our capabilities to express ourselves, it may be a challenge for anyone to go beyond the basics of literary. I think that’s why it’s never been so important to be a teacher so we can perhaps encourage our students to enjoy and partake in opportunities in both styles of communication.
The challenge with social media and online content is that it is expected to be short, to the point, and be able to get a message across in a certain number of characters. I think this leads to a decline in general literacy skills, but I believe they are as important as ever to be able to communicate effectively on social media. Everything has the ability to be public facing due to social media, so the need to protect and present your own personal brand in a positive light with correct grammar and meaning is essential.
I believe that there is definitely more need for everyone to have good literacy skills, often by using abbreviations we are confusing in the message that we are trying to get across, not all our audiences are of the same understanding and therefore the message could be interpreted in many different ways. Also it is hard enough having good grammar & language skills with social media to ensure the audience understands what you and saying and how you are saying it, so when these skills are limited and abbreviations/slang become the “norm” its harder to detect the tone in the message.
Social media enabling individuals to express themselves in a simple and immediate fashion has changed society enormously when it comes to connecting with family and friends. However, when it comes to professional forums, those who carry over this simplified way of communicating are being left behind. Good language and literacy, the ability to express ourselves in a meaningful and interesting way will engage our audience much more than the immediate simplified act of commenting via social media.
As humans, we have an innate need for self expression and acceptance by others. Social media now provides a platform where this can be done so readily and to such a potentially vast audience. Added to this is the notion of our ever-evolving language and vocabulary. For example, I cannot recall seeing the language used by Chaucer or Shakespeare in a tweet.
However, I believe we must learn and understand the fundamental components of language in order to be able to express ourselves. In doing so, where there is a “tweak” to language, it is just that and not error or lack of understanding.
I believe good language and literacy skills are still important, and always will be.
Even with the use of internet slang and text talk, the social media posts with the most reach and impact are those with correct spelling and grammar. I think spelling and grammar errors devalue the message you are trying to send and look clumsy and unprofessional. While I partake in text talk and internet slang, I mostly use this ironically – as do my friends. But I know that many young people struggle to communicate in any other way now. I think language and literacy skills are more important now than ever, because if young people don’t learn and value these skills at a young age, they will struggle to work in the professional world.
I believe that good literacy skills are more important in these times. My reason for this is that people often write things without thinking because it is a quick hit and don’t understand that their information can be misinterpreted.
Children learn at an early age to use social media which is very exciting for them, however what they share is short and sharp, we then lose the ability to allow our creative mind and use of language to be developed. The use of correct spelling appears to be lost as well.
I believe that through social media, people become lazy and do what it quick and easy. I believe it is more important than ever to ensure the language and literacy skills are taught and encourage. An important part of communicating is taking into consideration the purpose and the intended audience. Regardless of the prominence of social media, people need to learn and develop literacy and language skills so that they are able to utilise these skills in the appropriate settings. Using slang, abbreviations, informal communication etc. whilst on social media is seen as acceptable. People need the skills to be able to determine what is appropriate for the different settings/audiences and be able to adapt the language and literacy application to suit appropriately.
Language and literacy skills should continue to be treated with the same importance that they always have. Before you can begin to use text or slang talk you must understand the words which you are changing. Every generation has grown to develop their own slang, words that have crept into our vocabulary until they are universal and we forget they were once a new original word. They often make conversations quicker and easier, and build rapport with the audience. New words such as “bromance” and “jeggings” may seem jarring to the older generations who believe young people are butchering the English Language, however both these words are now in the English dictionary. Words such as “movie” would have had the same effect when they were first used, but now movie is almost universally used by all generations in place of “moving picture”. I believe we are therefore not losing our ability to express ourselves but rather our expressions and language reflect the social changes in the world around us.
Correct spelling and grammar has always been important to me. I am definitely ‘old school’ having graduated from high school in the 80’s. I really struggle with social media, in particular Facebook, not just from a literacy point of view but just the inane content of many posts I read and ‘oversharing’ of very personal information in a public forum. I do however understand the importance of social media for many people, in terms of connecting with friends and sharing ideas and news.
I agree with many other posts here that young people are learning bad LLN habits through social media and the use of abbreviations and emojis to express ideas – which can be easily misunderstood. Personally, I find the incorrect use of your and you’re incredibly annoying. It’s also important as prospective employers will look at social media posts of prospective employees .
I have twenty eight nieces and nephews who all communicate via social media, interestingly the older they get the more they are feeling that they are products of a trend and now feel they have to improve their LLN skills to achieve the career goals they are reaching out for.
Below is the definition of Pop culture ( my father says “i am a Pop but have no culture”) Lol!
pop culture
noun
modern popular culture transmitted via the mass media and aimed particularly at younger people.
“fashion, music, and the iconography of pop culture offered the perfect medium for profit”
Clearly the motivation for this marketing platform is profit and the commercial world will exploit the young and impressionable. is it adequately preparing them for the real world?
I guess it depends on which world they want to belong too.
I believe that historically the changes the older generation sees is always viewed as a negative and a breakdown of standards, maybe it is just different?
I am an optermist.
Social media provides a platform for anyone with an internet connection to connect with their own network and express themselves however they wish. It is not exclusively the domain of those with excellent written English skills, and to suggest that all social media posts should be written in perfect, grammatically correct English with no spelling errors, no overuse of capitalisation, no conversational dialect (including the use of ‘like’) and no slang is elitist nonsense.
I feel that the ‘dumbing down’ on social media does nobody any good.
Yes, the shortcuts can grab the audience quicker. But the continuous exposure to bad grammar, wrong sentence structure and excessive use of slang slowly starts to look and feel normal. If most of young peoples interactions are online this dumbing down becomes the new norm and we will slowly lose basic language skills in a whole generation. Gosh, I feel old just writing this!
I feel it depends on the audience. If someone is providing commentary on important social issues, then yes, it is likely the audience will be more likely to expect attention to spelling and punctuation. However, a large part of social media is dedicated to young people and marketing, where current slang is an important factor in communication.
That being said, I believe there are essential skills such as resume writing, strategic planning etc where a strong grasp of language and literary skills are required. Many careers are becoming increasingly complex, demanding strong LLN skills. Learning bad habits through social media posts, texting etc is not helping develop these skills.
I agree, that good language and literacy skills are still important in social media posts. I have come to realise that there are many people who read your posts and for many different reasons. Therefore it may be considered wise to make sure that we are making good and proper representations of ourselves.
Also – I have to say that I do shorten words. Coz = Because, and when we do things like this, they become habit. I have accidentally used shortened words in documentation and not noticed in my editing . . . . . just because it was second nature to me
I would agree with this but it can go both ways – it seems that over time the usage of social media can help to eliminate meaningful sentences from someone that may have literacy skills and I also see that it can cause someone with a non literacy background to actually start reading and writing even though it may be slang, social texting etc. I have grown up in a remote community and have somewhat good literacy skills but may not have the social media talk skills that I want to have meaning of.
I agree with Casey Buchanan, social media is adding to the range of participants and levels of literacy. There is an opportunity for these participants to practice and further develop their literacy and communication skills. Due to the advances in technology and software most participants are able to contribute without developing further, so we are seeing an increasing amount of social media discussion that is lacking basic spelling, punctuation, Etc. This style of discussion means, the purpose of the conversation is being lost, people become frustrated and those with credible Discussion and evidence do not engage. This is a real issue as social media is having a massive affect on our lives. It is used in marketing, business and government research, friendships, professional profiles, and many other ways. The other part of the discussion is, everyone deserves freedom of speech/opinion, regardless of their literacy skills, differences, etc.
The answer is yes, literacy skills are important in social media, and yes, we are loosing the skills to communicate effectively due to advances in software applications.
The rise of Social media is making the written word more common and creating ease of access to people who normally would not be drawn to it. This is very challenging for people who have lower literacy levels but is a great opportunity to produce content that is interesting and accessible and may create an interest in further learning paths.
This is a beautifully written article, and a topic that I do agree with, quite substantially. While I do admit that I often use abbreviations, slang, and acronyms, I do so much less nowadays than I did in my younger years. I understand that LOL-ing and YOLO-ing can be seen as cool and edgy, but a lot more can be said about proper articulation of the English language, through written and spoken words. The use of their, there and they’re are examples of this.
Trolling and other online abuse, often simply a result of toxic assumptions through lack of context or intent, are becoming increasingly present, at an alarming rate.
Given that most of our communication comes from non-verbal communication, such as body language and voice intonation, the rise of short messaging and text-only communication should be demanding, I feel, a much more precise use of the language.
In order to communicate intent, emotion and content effectively, there has never been a more important time to express oneself accurately.
I agree that LLN skills are more important than ever given the prominence of social media today. Few things invite silent judgement from our peers more than displaying a lack of understanding regarding the use of the words: there, their, and they’re: your vs you’re. My personal bugbear is the use of apostrophes in plurals!
This is a subject close to my heart! Of course communication is key to society functioning in harmony. If these skills are lost or even diluted we risk misunderstandings (people taking things the wrong way) through to breakdowns in relationships.
Many people seem to write on social media posts the first thing that comes into their heads, without editing. Posts then become very subjective and can appear self indulgent, causing annoyance and mockery in the audience (at times).
Good spelling is very important, without it their is even more confusion and may cause a reader to stop reading.
Effective communication is the essence of any good relationship whether with people we know intimately, or those we may only know virtually. Clear communication about an idea or thought is essential to understanding and allowing the audience to interpret correctly whatever it is that the author is trying to convey. The importance of this is highlighted by the potentially negative effect of information being misinterpreted and then spread to a much wider audience, for example, fake news. Someone’s opinion expressed in a way suggesting rather than clearly conveying whether it was based on fact or not, and suddenly everyone is reading it and deciding it is fact. I think that now, more so than ever before that it is imperative that good language and literacy skills are upheld.
Bravo Mary, I couldn’t agree more…..and this is why I am totally enjoying working with you on your Cert IV….
I definitely believe that the casualisation of expression on social media is a problem because it is diluting our skills and standards over time and leaves the reader to guess at the intended meaning rather than being sure. Societies that succeed have structure, rules, agreed conventions that help things to run smoothly and, if we continue to allow this degradation of language across the board, we may end up with a very odd and corrupted means of communication. I think it was less of an issue when social media first emerged, because people still had some level of schooling with an expectation that there is a “right way” to spell and express things in writing, with some formality. Now even schools permit work to be submitted in this informal, almost illiterate way of writing and so awareness of the basic building-blocks of language is fading. I also don’t believe that people should be discriminated against if they have actual problems with literacy and language (dyslexia, English as an other language) but there are an awful lot of people who simply don’t care anymore whether they can spell, use punctuation, or put a coherent sentence together. If that lack of regard for literacy extends to the workplace and performing professional functions then it could pose a risk to economic outcomes, reputation and workplace culture and communication.
Claire I couldn’t agree more. Maybe being of the “old school” is a disadvantage in this day and age.
Sometimes I receive text messages that I just don’t understand.
Accurate communication is essential for people to understand one another.
When they fail to understand one another, this causes conflict and disengagement.
So we need a common language, common rules.
Language does change over the years. We have only to look at Chaucer to know that.
However, I think right now it’s changing in the wrong way.
Sandy
Good language and literacy skills should always remain important. I don’t agree that it is an either / or competition between emerging forms of communication. I don’t believe we are losing the ability to express ourselves in meaningful and interesting ways. Rather, I think that social media and “online shorthand” tools such as acronyms, emojis, gifs, memes and stickers are making communications more creative, fun and enjoyable. Future generations will have the gift of the broadest range of communication systems available. As many people have said in this blog, I agree that we need to communicate at the appropriate levels for the audiences we want reach. Quick, fun and easy communication styles online are very useful to my friends and I on a social, personal level. Understanding when and where to convey messages through appropriate language and literacy skills in professional situations is equally as useful and important.
Good points Gabrielle, it is important knowing when, where and how to convey messages appropriately.
I also believe too, it depends on the type audience that is reading the social media. While it is true that most of the audience are young people, it is also true that older generations are learning to use social media as well. I think that the biggest challenge is assuming that everyone knows what some of the the ‘short hand’ is for example, LOL means, it is also important to understand that some may also not know because alot of new words are being made as well as a result of this ‘short hand’. The solution could be hard and a difficult one, because we could in essence eradicated some of the words in our english vocabulary or worse still, not appreciate what the english language has to offer and that are the rules and standards that are attached to the language- written and also speaking. Rules and standards can assist in the cohension and connection of people, a society. It can also break down barriers. Sometimes, this can get totally lost in social media when english language is not used properly.
I believe social media has changed society immensely. My personal opinion is we will get better at using it and it will become less of a platform for keyboard warriors and more of an educational tool. I think this is already starting to take place with people preferring to use platforms such as Linkedin rather than Facebook for example. Schools are now starting to ban phones and Ipads etc and we now have a defined condition for people who struggle to communicate verbally with networks efficiently.
In my case, I have asked my mother, who is quite old, to cease sending me messages via FB. Often an argument will develop as the context/meaning of the message is completely lost. 30 seconds on a voice call and I am sure there would have been no issues at all.
Good language skills and literacy are very important. I personally view them as my weak point. Recently I applied for a job with a major mining company. Part of that application process was giving them access to my FB account. (It was an option).
I believe communication online will take a leap forward shortly:-).
I would disagree with the notion that good language and literacy skills are no longer important. If you are going to take the time to post an opinion or comment online, then surely you do not wish to be misunderstood. If the rules of spelling, grammar and syntax are ignored, this leaves open the door to ambiguity and mixed messages.
Opinions are formed very quickly when dealing with people online and are often based on only a few comments ( or one comment!). If those comments are riddled with spelling and grammar mistakes, the reader may dismiss or not consider any points made in these posts. Some people will automatically be regarded as less intelligent and brushed aside. Or the thread becomes about the bad spelling/grammar and not the original topic, which was of course not the intent of the post/comment.
The more “relaxed” social media literacy that we often see can give the writer the confidence to post their thoughts. If the writer has issues with literacy then that confidence boosting can be beneficial. Social media can enable the person living with a disability to participate in their wider world. I believe that literacy skills are still relevant in today’s society. It is pretty important that people do understand that different styles of literacy that can apply to different situations. Misinterpretation on social media can be a real issue and can have severe consequences eg flaming an employer on a post. Adjusting your communication style, written and verbal, is still a basic “rule” to maximise the understanding of the recipient. I”m pretty boring and still spell check my texts!
I strongly believe grammar is incredibly important and that everyone should know and understand how to use correct grammar. These skills are taught in school however I feel due to casual and lazy writing and texting, people forget the skills they once learnt. In relation to communicating with people I think it depends on who you are communicating with that determines the formality of your words.
It is becoming more common that people are using social media as their news platform therefore I strongly believe articles and lengthy posts trying to send a message should use correct grammar. Not only does it show professionalism and intelligence of the writer it can also completely change and alter the way in which your words are read, however this may also only be true if the person reading the post understands the use of correct grammar.
Sending private messages to friends and family, sure, i don’t see there being an issue with text slang but posting on a public forum where thousands possibly millions of people are going to read it is crucial to use correct grammar particular for young people as they will learn from these words and for your article being truly understood.
I believe that literacy skills are enormously important when using social media for two main reasons.
1. When we are communicating in a written format we don’t have access to the detailed non-verbal information we get in face to face contact (tone of voice, pace of speech, body language, facial expression etc). This leaves written communication open to misinterpretation and our only defense against this is thoughtful and deliberate use of our literacy skills (using accurate words, descriptions and correct punctuation).
2. By developing and carefully using our own literacy skills we become more aware of how meaning is made and value is taken in social media. In reading social media content it especially important to engage our analytical skills as so much opinion is reported as fact. Using our language knowledge around things like sentence construction, we can also better equip ourselves to spot bot-generated content.
I have an issue with the way younger, and some older people use these phrases and acronyms. The more common shortened English is used in social media, the more common it becomes in conversation. This leads to shortened social media language being written in formal written communication. The less we use words, the greater the chance they will fade into history and be replaced with the ‘new’ made up or lazy words. The more we use abbreviated or made up words, the more likely they will be picked up by mainstream media, then eventually end up in the dictionary, ‘ungoogleable’ for example, unable to be found in a search engine. In 2013 the Swedish Language Council added it to their dictionary, to later remove it due to copyright issues with Google.
A second problem this is causing is students not reading in depth, but skim reading and not taking in knowledge. Many students will do a google search, read the headings or the first 10 pages and give up.
All this is leading to a less literate society, this is a problem when there are fewer jobs and we are competing in a global economy.
My thoughts are, if we as a society use shortened text speak in social media posts, this changes the way we speak as a society. I have heard LOL used in conversations from teenagers. The decline of the English language is at risk. When we start using these words in conversation, they then become more prevalent in written communication that is not on social media, this is very concerning.
A scarier thought is how words are added to the dictionary, if a word is used enough, it is added. This was raised in the media a few years back when the word “ungooglable’ (unable to be found in a search engine) was introduced for a short time before it was removed as Google is copyright.
Regardless of what the format, the art of communication is integral to how we express ourselves, provide opinions, gather knowledge and interact. Literacy and numeracy skills enable us to understand or contribute to any given topic of interest, poor literacy and numeracy skills can be prohibitive for those with lack of confidence and ability while something that is written at a certain level or understanding that is intended for those at a different level of understanding or ability may well not be consumed as it was intended.
Language and literacy should be always very important. Off course between friends and informal scenario we can play and use as many short cut and slang as we please.
This is may be a very broad topic and involves personal belief, generational gap, etc…
Also we need to take in consideration the contribution of technology, AI, the whole education system and the direction each single government is leading towards. Language is a very powerful tool able to shape present life and mould future generation.
Technology reduced the level of attention needed to complete any task. Hand writing in first place: Our brain retain about 67% more information when we write down any information ( kinetic memory). It is not a surprise the level of attention disorder skyrocketed in the last generation or so.
Do not get me wrong I embrace all about technology, progress, AI and I can’t wait to see all the benefits it will bring to our life, but first of all we need to be in control and be conscious of our capability, we have a very powerful tool called brain, that should never become obsolete.
I believe literacy skills are highly important. There is so much miscommunication and misinterpretation that can come from not having enough knowledge in these areas and the misuse of grammar in written text can affect the point you are trying to get across. If you have strong knowledge in these areas you can then apply them appropriately (using the correct abbreviations if required) to ensure that the right message reaches the right people.
As academics like Fitch ( 2010) who specialise in the way humans communicate with each other note, the ability to communicate through language is what distinguishes humans from other species. Originally we communicated through grunts and gesture, then speech then came the ability to write the spoken word down on papyrus then print on paper, then humans began to communicate through media like radio, television and film. When digital age dawned, so social media became a popular communication mode. However, from the moment we began to write things down rules also developed and became important. Judgements were made about the communicator according to how well they demonstrated knowledge of these rules ( like the correct use of a word, correct spelling, tenses of verbs and even the correct use of apostrophes!).
Today when we want messages delivered instantly many of these rules seem no longer important; it is all about getting the message out there quickly. Acronyms are common, spelling and the correct use of verbs are no longer important , and in many cases how a message is crafted no longer seems important. Academics like Fitch (2010) would propose that since language, like the norms of society, is an evolving entity that this is just a gradual example of the evolution of language and that we should perhaps accept the changes that social media has caused and perhaps that rules too will change or be lost. However at the moment it is not yet appropriate to use the acronyms like LOL that have evolved from social media in areas like workplace communications, legal documents and even in the books that we read.
As trainers an educators we will be at the forefront on making decisions about what we accept; facing challenges between getting our learners to engage will materials and how they engage, particularly when they begin to write without verbs, small words like ‘the’ and ‘a’, and completely ignore punctuation. We will practice our trade in interesting times!
I feel that there has been and always will be a critical role for literacy within our communication systems no matter what shape this may take in the future. I constantly see and hear time and time again a simple conversation whether written or verbal suddenly escalate due to poor grammar, not knowing the full meaning of words before they are used, poor sentence structure or a total failure to pre-read before one sends a document or opens ones mouth. Any form of literacy is a form of language and there for is fine as long and the person you are communicating to is fluent and has a total understanding of that language of which you are using. When this is not the case we must all revert to an acceptable and proper form to ensure we communicate effectively.
When posting on social media you communicate in a manner that appeals to your intended audience, but the users often forgets that this material is often accessible by a wider group. Simple things can be misunderstood in the traditional day to day communication and this is amplified when the material is accessed via social media by a diverse range of people with different ages, backgrounds and interpretations. As the article says everyone knows the LOL means laugh out loud but does it for everyone? My father in law often uses it in communication to mean lots of love. I think this highlights that there is still a need to develop good language and literacy skills so that the meaning is received by both the intend audience and the casual observer.
Social media has changed the way we do business, our lifestyle, and the way we socialise and connect with people. there are billions of people that use this communication medium–an effective way to communicate, influence, and be influenced at the cultural and political level.
In a major assignment, I indicated that the social media, learning online and other internet mediums are considered as effective informal learning which leads to the acquisition of a second language (L2).
Similarly, literacy and numeracy are very important to convey your ideas clearly in this new exciting social media world.
I am concerned that some consider quite acceptable to use slang or grammatically incorrect structures; thus, potentially leading to a possible loss of meaning. After all, the purpose of communication is to convey meaning and adequately connecting people together.
In the end, it’s quite a cumbersome to use different writing styles when communicating with your professor or a close friend. If I use an appropriate and correct writing style, I would be conveying respect to my target audience.
It is estimated that by 2018, over 2.5 billion people world-wide are using various platforms of social media. It has changed the way we communicate, increased availability of information, conduct business, political governance and can bring a group of people together who share a similar ideology. I believe language, literacy and numeracy skills are important, however it does depend on the audience.
In 1876, Antonio Meucci invented the first telephone. Revolutionary for the time. Communication went from verbal or written to having the ability of being half way around the world and hearing a conversation in real-time. However, the problem was that you had to be there at the time to pick up the receiver on a fixed line. These days, messaging such as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter is instantaneous for large groups of people. But with the incredible speed, people begin to use a short hand style of writing, abbreviating or even using emojis to express themselves. The author needs to be mindful of the intended audience. The way a person expresses themselves to friends is very different to how you must write in a workplace or school environment. Here you would be expected to write to display a high degree of literacy and numeracy.
The availability of information has dramatically increased. Now, most information is available by the simple search on internet explorer. Without doubt, Youtube has its positives and negatives, however it too has its place when used correctly. This social media platform can teach you how to do a task on a computer or around the home and can also teach artistic or creative techniques.
Social media has also changed the way we do business. By paying a fee to the social media giant, a business can advertise a product or service to hundreds or thousands of people in an instant. They monitor users ‘likes’ or ‘dislikes’ to market particular products. Political parties also use the same platform to seed or reinforce a particular ideology. Even President Trump realized the power of Twitter bypassing the control of the media. Is business or political advertising beneficial? This is dependent on the audience.
Social media is here to stay so we must embrace it. The language, literacy and numeracy style must suit the intended audience.
Some great points and comments have already been posted – it was interesting reading through them!
I also agree that literacy skills are important when using social media. In my view, it does depend on who the audience is – as we vary our verbal language depending on who we are talking to, I thinks it’s natural to vary it with written communication, which includes social media.
I think a key point is that having literacy skills help you to know how best to communicate with your intended audience, and helps you recognise when you have made a mistake. There are some who perhaps don’t fully realise that their literacy skills might be low, and therefore inadvertently make some mistakes. If there is a reasonable level of literacy, at least the writer will recognise when a mistake might have been made, and can take steps to correct if desired.
While the tools can help (spell checkers, etc.), these still cannot read the writers mind (I hope not anyway!), and so errors can still occur. Developing literacy skills will assist with any sort of writing, whether on social media or any other format.
Yes, language and literacy skills are imperative to good social media commentary to be understood by the broader audience but as these posts are often directed to a limited and colloquial audience and they will be framed in their own “Street” or “Tribal” language and have the flavour of the close group and this will dominate good language and literacy skills. One would hope that in responding to a different demographic, the writer would reframe this language and use the dictionary correct terms and spellings if they are capable of these.
I do believe that language and literacy skills are important when using social media. Many posts are “reactive” in nature and people tend to forget that once the post out in the public domain it is there forever.
This is where context becomes extremely important & in particular whether the post has been used in a professional or personal capacity; remembering also that a person’s reputation may be “coloured” by the words they use.
The use of social media often means that the intent of the words on the audience are lost, due to the absence of nuances, facial expression, tone and gestures. This may lead to the words being misunderstood.
This is a very thought provoking discussion that has made me reflect on my own relationship with language and literacy. As a child books were read to me. As a teenager and younger adult I loved to read books for myself. Now as a mature age adult I find I am reading less and listening more (to books).
I have exposure to only 1 social media platform, being FaceBook, and the occasional blog. However I find that I become instantly disengaged from posts that use poor grammar & spelling. When I reflect on this reaction it tells me that I am being judgmental about the person behind these posts; assuming that their level of education and literacy is somewhat lower than my own. This may or may not be true, but it is not my right to judge based on a social media post
Thanks for your comments Angela you have made some interesting and valid points.
To be honest I know I am very guilty of this. To give some background, my use of social media is limited to being an arm chair expert on Facebook, other platforms are too confusing to me. Further, when I first came to Australia, I had limited English. Though I survived the school system, my uses of grammar and punctuations was always a weakness, and still is. Then came along the mighty computer with grammar and spell-check. Though figuring out the grammar mistakes tested my patience, the quality of my work slightly improved. Then the social media revolution, now I can write my thoughts without the care of disapproval. I still re-read my postings before submitting to catch any obvious mistakes but often in the moment I still miss a bit.
But where as those days I was paranoid of a lower score resulting in my mistakes, which made me try to constantly improve, now it seems rather normal most of the time and often I only realize my mistakes when someone makes a comment directing attention to it. I have no constant need to improve and so bad habits just continue to creep in. So this can be seen as a detriment to ‘proper’ English.
But to be honest I do not find it so much of a problem when it is two people just arguing, and if anything sometimes the ‘text’ talk format makes conversations online appear as if it is a real conversation. Sometimes emoji’s etc can make meaning silly, but it is just another way to express ones feelings. I actually think this is important as that style of conversation makes people feel connected. Where as if discussions occurred in ‘proper’ English you might not get the same connection with other parties as the informal nature allows for better interaction.
There will be a place for that older style of English in books, in publications, in formats where we seek that professional, formal English. Though the quality of literacy may reduce, there will always be a need for it, hence people will be constantly exposed to it. As long as continue to educate future generations using the old English. But, just like with many languages, where varying dialects were formed over centuries, the English that is sighted in social media should be seen as a new secondary dialect.
You have made some valid points Dinusha, thanks for sharing your thoughts
Kerry
The rise and rise of social media is unique to our time, but the the rise and fall of literacy and numeracy in the population over time is a recurrent theme. My view is that with the increasing use of digital voice and voice recognition in machines, the literacy levels will decrease evermore. In the past we had the merging of languages for instance in Olde England when French words and phrases infiltrated the English language. Due to only a small portion of the population being literate (or even having access to the written word), we now have a mixed bag of a language. Hundreds of years later, the same is occurring online – those who don’t frequent the medium, are left behind as the language marches ever forward with new words, new abbreviations, new acronyms and new meanings for old words. Embrace change for it is the only constant, I say!
I don’t use social media – exactly – at times I am ‘pressured’ into as I feel I am in danger of being seen by my family as old fashioned. When I text I use a type of personalised short hand which my daughter says is really odd but funny, yet it is functional as the message needs to be short and simple. This may have originated early in the sue of mobile phones when people were charged by the telecom companies virtually per character to send texts.
I have read and heard that younger people today are in danger of not being able to construct stories as they don’t read books as much as books were once read. They may be in danger of not being taught the story line of the beginning, the middle and the end so to speak.
Anyway It deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. …
I believe it really depends on the audience at the time as we all understand and relate differently to how we communicate.
I love Helen’s reply the best. My daughter is a teacher and she constantly reminds me when I make a mistake, then, on the other hand some of her posts are hard to read because of the abbreviations she uses.
As far as social media goes, you can love it or hate it, but lets face it more words are spoken behind the scenes than if it were to be face to face. I believe that a lot of bullies out there just love social media.
It is annoying to see words spelt wrong, or sentences not worded correctly, but hey when you see your 19 year old daughter corresponding with an 85 year old grandmother, how good is that.
Is it a case of The generation Gap??
I enjoyed reading these comments, as Helen says LOL
Great points Elizabeth, thanks for sharing.
Like the majority of comments, I believe it depends on the post. The importance of language and literacy skills in a professional post compared to the relaxed level required for social social media. I also believe it would be beneficial to have a higher level of language and literacy before choosing to adopt the ‘quick and easy communication styles of social media.’
Yes, literacy skills important when using Social Media. As most of the responses above have touched on, it is important that the author of any message understand the audience, context and substance of their message be it spoken, written or visual. The language used could change with a change in audience. The importance of the words selected also changes with the audience.
The author needs to be able to ensure that they are articulating what is accurate, true and correct. Even minor changes or errors in punctuation can completely change the meaning of a sentence or phrase. At the end of the day what is the point of ‘saying’ something that is not what you set out to say or need to convey.
I don’t think we are losing Literacy skills, I believe we have already lost them.
People in general feel that it is ok to misspell, mispronounce, abbreviate & obliterate the English language.
The art of writing, comprehension & story telling through our words are all but gone.
It is a sad blight on society, that we have become so lazy….
In a participant based course where everything matters, there should be no excuse for bad spelling, or Grammar. Do we have a schooling Issue?
As a prospective teacher & trainer I feel it is part of my job description to instill into my students the love of words, and writing in general. Penmanship has already been lost.
Posts on social media are made without the visual assistance of facial expression. Without good literacy skills, it is very easy to misinterpret a poorly written comment.
I believe good language and literacy skills are vital now more than ever especially with the increase of the use of social media. Messages on social media are often misconstrued leading to a plethora of comments showing evidence of misunderstanding of the original post. Posts are often shortened (not succinctly) leading to misunderstanding by the reader which is evident in comments. Users of social media need to be extremely careful of how they word their posts especially when they are in the public domain as poorly worded posts may have serious consequences. Another aspect to consider is our literacy and language skills are deteriorating as a result of predictive text.
Social Media and the inherent need for all participants to keep ahead of the field has greatly encouraged the use of minimal language. This is undoubtedly a tragedy because it is unable to have brakes applied. The less thought given when contributing to social media posts now will only lead to the use of more minimal language. We are heading for a return to caveman grunts, growls and chest beating.
Yes – language and literacy skills are needed now more then ever before.
Language can be spoken, written or visual depending on the audience. The main thing is that the message is understood by the audience it was intended for.
Social media has grown so much over the last few years that maybe it could be perceived to be a new genre. If it encourages more people to read and write I think it is wonderful and hopefully it continues to do so. With continued usage this may even improve some of those poor LLN skills that are prevalent in our society.
I must admit I do find it very hard to abbreviate even the simplest of text messages, but sometimes it is quicker and the intended audience do understand. LOL.
I believe that Language and literacy skills are still important and there is a need for the continuing development of these skills. Social media posts do need to be interesting and the reader definitely needs to understand what the writer is trying to say. Otherwise the message could lost or misinterpreted. Perhaps the quick and easy communication styles of social media maybe limiting our ability to express ourselves and give substance to our thoughts.
Good point Frazer, the key word used is substance and it is often missing in social media posts.
I would suggest that well developed language and literacy skills are still extremely important in order to accurately communicate vital information, as a tool to influence, build a strong structured argument or to effectively demonstrate comprehension.
This argument is especially true when using social media given how instant and far reaching these communications platforms are.
Abbreviating language, use of slang, acronyms and colloquialisms constantly whilst communicating amongst friends via social media and texting may be acceptable in context but in a professional sense, I believe this demonstrates either a lack of respect for the audience, laziness on behalf of the sender and possibly a lack of understanding of the subject matter or indeed may mask more serious LLN issues. It assumes comprehension on behalf of the reader but unintentionally may lead to miscommunication or mis-interperation of the intended message.
I agree with the author in that “there is a critical need for the continuing development of language and literacy skills.” or use it or lose it and “The effectiveness of a post depends on how engaging the post is and how easy it is to understand – the reader should be able to ‘get it’ quickly without having to interpret what the writer is trying to say.” The more interpretation required the less effective the communication.
I agreed most of comments in here, as per these comments (all above) shows us the significance of literacy skills when using Social Media in nowadays. In the findings, our new generation may not be reading the books, but they are clearly interested in modern social networking. So, the question becomes whether modern social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube are spoiling or helping our new generation with reading the books. The Modern social networking sites, which began as social communities, are becoming increasingly important. Furthermore, we to understand how to use literacy skills at appropriately and safety approaches in the Modern social networking sites.
As someone who contributes to employing people in the office I work in, one of my first port of calls is to search for that person on their social media accounts.
People have commented on this above and they are absolutely correct.
My manager has followed my example and will now search every applicant’s social media accounts (extremely revealing not only from a LLN point of view). People who have read well in their resume can blow it with the posts they have put up.
If that person cannot spell, uses too many abbreviations or cannot construct a sentence appropriately, is this someone I want to work in my office?
This is especially true of the younger generation and I am not so sure they understand how this can affect their futures. Ffs!
This is a good point Jake, I think some people forget how visible their online persona is and how much information they may be unwittingly give away.
I do not believe we are losing the skills and therefore the ability to express ourselves in a meaningful and interesting way. My background in communication has taught me that the sender of a message encodes it in some way according to their mood, background and perspectives and sends it out in a mode of communication such as Social Media (or talking). Another person then decodes the information based on their mood, background and perspectives to make meaning. I believe that Social Media usually lacks important non-verbal communication so it is so important that people know conventional language and literacy skills are learned so that everyone using English has a common background.
My favourite English teacher told me that we need to know the rules of English so that we can break them for a purpose and know our intended outcomes instead of breaking rules unknowingly and being susceptible to unwanted outcomes.
I do believe and hope that everyone has their own style, my 85-year-old grandmother knows more about conventional English language rules than anyone I know and her Facebook messages are the most difficult and rewarding to de-crypt.
I also believe and am thankful that different places have their own conventions with language and literacy. My husband is from Southern Queensland and tells me the most interesting sayings that he thinks everyone knows. My family also have many unique euphemisms and they help bond us together. My brother intentionally uses incorrect spelling, punctuation and grammar to annoy me and is very quick to alert me when I have made a mistake. He often posts the most interesting and meaningful thoughts when he does this. Where there is a will to be interesting and meaningful, there will always be a way.
Emily, this is a very interesting comment. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I think that acquiring language and literacy skills is a lifelong journey. In saying that, I believe that having a good grasp of how language works actually makes it easier to be able to abbreviate and or using slang more effectively. As for being able to decipher the acronyms using on social media platforms, well that seems to be an ever evolving thing where the younger generation are adding to everyday language and the older generations are struggling to keep up! There will always be mixed opinions on what is acceptable language/literacy standards. I do think that having the knowledge of language and when/how to use holds the key to successful communication for all ages.
Excellent points Rachel, as you have noted if we want to be effective communicators we need to continue this lifelong journey of learning, this applies to both young and old. I must admit there are many text abbreviations that I don’t understand.
I too believe literacy skills are still relevant and important.
I believe that literacy skills are still important, even in these days of social media. A well written and laid out piece of writing can inspire and influence how we think and how we live.
Thank you for sharing your text.
I agree good language skiils is essential for good and clear communication.
I second this…
I would suggest good language and literacy skills are required to create genuinely interesting social media posts. There is definitely a requirement for good LLN skills when presenting ideas within the parameters that social media places on an author. An idea presented eloquently and efficiently within the specified number of words or characters required by a social media platform can be incredibly engaging. However, as Gil suggests unfortunately there are plenty of people using poor LLN skills, thus making uninteresting contributions. My belief is that a good foundation of LLN skills will always be of value, however the culture may occasionally shift its context, such as the social media example.
Well said Warwick 🙂
Literacy skills are definitely important in all written communication whether it is between friends on Facebook or in a work context such as an email. Miscommunication is more likely to occur when the non-verbal cues such as facial expression and body language are not present. Thus the written word becomes all important.
Social media is also a platform where people give impressions of themselves that may be accessed later (even years later). The right impression can lead to job opportunities as well as developing relationships.
Excellent point Janelle, I have been told that some job agencies and employers diligently search social media sites prior to employing staff to glean additional information on the potential staff member prior to offering them a job.
Literacy is important in using social media. But I think that the traditional interpretation of literacy as textbook grammatical “correctness” is not necessarily relevant in terms of social media. For better or worse (mostly for worse), some of the most powerful world leaders use platforms like twitter to devastating effect, without adhering to either spelling or grammar norms. The targets of their communications however, understand and may feel less threatened because of the errors and are therefore more able to accept the information, while often critics commenting on these mistakes are ridiculed as “elites”.
In terms of social media, it may be said that literacy is in the eye of the beholder.
Thanks for your thoughts Philip, I can think of a few world leaders who are doing this 🙂
Social media is making the written word more common and accessible to people who normally would not be drawn to it. This is very challenging for people who have lower literacy but is a great opportunity to create content that is interesting and accessible and may spark an interest in further learning.
Good point Alison, and hopefully it may even help people become more engaged and interested in improving their own literacy.
Of course LLN is important, Social Media has served to increase the reach and audience of the written word, not how you get your message across. The ability to write properly and articulate your message is not something that one can buy, it is a learnt skill that needs to be nurtured and improved on to enhance the audiences experience
What is apparent is the impact of social media on the attention span with most people wanting quick bites or snippets of information or they will move onto the next item that has piqued their interest.
A well written and succinct message has the same effect regardless of the media used, whether it’s in a book or on a screen.
Thanks for your comment Graeme, you have made some great points. I like reading an article that is well written in any media, print or screen.
Kerry
What an interesting topic to think about! Reading through all the previous posts shows us the wide range of opinions about language and literacy use in social media. Although I can see the reasons behind abbreviations, dropping grammar etc to communicate in a more casual way, it does concern me that this ‘casual’ use of language has translated into our verbal face-to-face conversations too, especially with younger people. Social media has become one of the main platforms for developing language and literacy skills for our youth. An earlier post mentioned that potentially many people are now only reading blogs and so if this is the case, there will definitely be a gap in the development of a person’s language and literacy skills and so surely that will translate into their ‘professional’ writing without their knowing the difference between ‘casual’ social media speak and ‘professional’ social media speak. I’m all for people having the skills to communicate both, but lets start with well developed language and literacy skills first. Those skills will only enhance the ‘casual’ posts, as the writer will be skilled in getting their message across more easily.
Thanks Lisa, excellent points.
Some great commentary above. I believe it’s all about context – personal or professional?In our global village where you may not meet ever work colleagues (or meet infrequently), the way in which we communicate is really important, as is taking the time to reflect before clicking “send”.
You can’t take this back – while impulsive words can be forgotten, social media is discoverable.
Good point John
The importance of language and literacy skills in social media depends greatly on the context and the intended audience.
In a professional context, good language and grammar are very important, giving weight to the message and fostering trust and respect. However, if a post is intended for friends and family or is merely an expression of self, and provided that the message is clear and respectful, I don’t think that we should be so judgemental. Everyone should have the freedom to express themselves however they choose and we should embrace these differences, even if we have to research the meaning of “FTR” or “BTW”!
I believe that a basic literacy is essential for clear communication and higher levels of literacy, beyond basic, facilitate the discerning application of language and literacy for a wider variety of contexts.
Social media is usually understood to be an informal platform, a mode of communication ‘between friends’, and so it is common for people to drop grammar and punctuation. I see this, in the main, as a personal choice acceptable for the context, but where errors are liberally dispersed, it can inadvertently signify a lower-level of education/competency. Usually it is glaringly obvious where someone has made a typing error, or has been a bit lazy in their expression versus a severe incapability to communicate. These are two very different matters.
In addition, a higher level of literacy includes a capacity to exploit genre patterns, roles and relationships, whereby the writer can ‘play’ with ways of communicating on social media to generate a desired meaning in a witty, discerning manner. There is nothing ‘wrong’ with engaging with social media in accordance with its genre patterns and context(s) when it does not simultaneously negate a sophisticated level of literacy.
As for the first question, social media is ostensibly reserved for adults and so I am sure the vast majority of posters understand that which is culturally signified and implicit in their posts. Whether they care or not, or are capable of demonstrating a higher level of literacy is another matter.
As for the second question, absolutely, vocabulary is narrowed, literacy levels are declining, and lower standards are becoming more ‘acceptable’, stymieing the capacity for meaningful, interesting communication across contexts, particularly formal contexts.
Good points Nicole
I believe it depends on who you are speaking with, is it more formal or is it between friends? Is it a closed group chat or available to a mass audience on Twitter? I think many messages can be taken out of context so it is extremely important to read and re-read everything before you press the send button. I think what people should always be mindful of is that not everyone has the same capabilities and background.
Good points Beth, if the chat is between friends it would be more casual.
I am also in agreement re the importance to double check everything before posting. Great comments thank you.
So many interesting viewpoints above; it reflects the positive potential of social media.
Social media is a great way to access a wide range of information but it can be overwhelming. Critical literacy can help filter and decide when to opt in or out of social media articles, comments and conversations.
I think language, literacy and numeracy skills are vital today especially if you include digital literacy. Having a strong foundation and being confident with these skills helps you decide which formal or informal genres of writing you want to use.
This is an excellent point Sue. Critical literacy becomes even more essential when we are bombarded with so much information and manipulation via social media.
Literacy is important to convey your thoughts clearly in a blog. However, I don’t think that it is vital to possess the highest standard of literacy to maintain a blog. I think a blog can be a source of improving literacy skills because people are motivated to write on a consistent basis if it is interesting and personal.
I think you are right Jessica. Anything that encourages an individual to interact regularly with the written word is going to improve their literacy. I wish that more young people enjoyed reading books, but if blogs are the way of the future – let’s embrace it.
I believe that literacy skills are important overall, but in saying that social media has made abbreviations an acceptable form of communication, which is fine for that intended audience. Though if your audience is to do with your business or job role then literacy skills become extremely important especially in an education and/or training world. Especially when dealing with government departments. There is a place for both social media “speak” i.e. abbreviations etc and literacy skills for your business, and in reality you swap and change between them depending on your audience.
Thanks for your comment Faith, and some good points, I agree that we need to still follow the “old” guidelines of writing for our purpose and audience, and certainly business writing requires a high level of literacy skills without any jargon or abbreviations.
Social media is undeniably important as a channel of communication for both private and public comment and observation ,and I believe that our on-line life style heightens the importance of literacy. When you are not face-to face with the person that you are communicating with, being able to explain what you mean and intend becomes even more important . There are even arguments that social media can enhance literacy – “social networking sites and blogs help students to develop more positive attitudes towards writing and become more confident in their writing abilities.” https://bit.ly/2ogFehW
The National Literacy Trust in the UK agrees:
“… a staggering 75% of 5 to 15-year-olds use a tablet at home, as do over half (55%) of 3 to 4-year-olds. As they are exposed to so much more digital content, their literacy skills — including their ability to speak, listen, read, write, decode, understand and interrogate language and texts — need to be stronger than ever.
https://bit.ly/2xRuvxE
“Recognising the opportunities of digital technology on International Literacy Day” 08.09.17
National Literacy Trust UK
I personally think the importance of literacy depends on the intention of the post.
If the post is a business post such as a promotion of yourself or a product, then literacy and grammar are extremely important as bad literacy will reflect poorly back to the business that is being advertised.
However, if you are using social media to interact with friends and family, there is less impact when communicating with a lower level of literacy providing that what you are saying is understood.
I agree with Casey, that the importance of literacy quality depends on the context – i.e is the post related to families, friends, sporting or other, or is the post in a more business / product or work related related sphere. We are alot more tolerant if posts are in the more familiar areas, but have higher expectations if we see social media posts in a more professional / business area.
Also – lots of posts are commenting on a general decline in literacy as seen in social media, as well as in the wider media community. I wonder if this reflects a lack of wider reading that seems to be occurring. Sometimes I wish people would become better listeners, and I mean active listening. This could actually help to raise peoples literacy skills – a good place to start is ABC Radio’s ” Radio National ” network – as an example.
Good points shared here Murray which reflects on what Casey expressed. Reading is a critical literacy skill and we may find that with the digital age, the younger generation love their digital devices. Some do read books (e-books) from their digital book-apps on those devices. You might find a good read of Active Listening in the digital age from this site: https://www.intelenetglobal.com/download/Blogs/Active%20Listening%20in%20the%20Digital%20Age.pdf
The question sent me checking the definition of literacy, which of course is much broader than being competent in a field, so not just about being able to robot-like communicate, in the LLN case. It doesn’t take long on Facebook to find posts followed by requests for clarification or misunderstandings. I am very cautious about what I post, on the rare occasions that I do post. To me, it is important that I get my point across and it is clear, and hopefully I am not corrected. For others (many?), it seems that ‘banter’ is the aim, and being loose with words gives scope for further exchanges. So I think – for me, the answer to the question is yes, but many don’t care, and would say no.
I think you’ve made a really good point here Paul. Literacy isn’t just accurate spelling and grammar. It’s a whole lot more.
Social media is a public forum and therefore it’s important to say what you mean so there is no misunderstanding.
I’m not sure the problem is “banter”. It could also be inability coupled with a belief that it doesn’t matter.
I agree Emma. It is important to take pride in a language and the way we write. This can certainly give the other person an impression i.e. professional or non-professional. As trainers and assessors and in our professional occupations, it is important that our communication is of a high standard. This may be different when communicating with friends and family via social media.
I think it is more important than ever to ensure proper grammar is used, in online or other communication. I think it’s fine to use the odd ‘lol’ or ‘ikr’ as an addition to a comment, but to replace single English words with text abbreviations for an entire paragraph can be irritating and exhausting to the reader. It’s nice to take pride in writing the English language and it’s a good habit to be in so as not to be complacent when it comes to more professional interactions.
I agree Emma. It is important to take pride in a language and the way we write. This can certainly give the other person an impression i.e. professional or non-professional. As trainers and assessors and in our professional occupations, it is important that our communication is of a high standard. This may be different when communicating with friends and family via social media.
I am inclined to think that yes, there is a definite need to brush up on our literacy skills but also it raises the question of whether we need to also examine social skills? Why do people behave so poorly on social media? Are poor literacy skills linked to the reasons why people troll on social media?
It’s one thing to abbreviate words, use colloquialism and jargon but it’s an entirely different situation when poor literacy or communication skills lead to highly emotionally charged exchanges.
Sikiki, your comment is very important. We are hearing so much these days about cyber-bullying and the dreadful results – and this is much more important than whether sentences are constructed properly.
I think you are right in saying that poor communication skills are a factor in the way comments are made but I think there’s more to it than that (and I think you do too).
Social media has changed many things about the way we live and the way that we interact – and although there are many positives, it also provides a platform for hate, prejudice and cruelty.
In social media, spelling and grammar have become akin to a new form of classism. Inevitably, when someone uses an errant apostrophe, simply no punctuation at all, or the incorrect there/they’re/their, someone will reply with a snooty *correction.
I follow a lovely, good-natured facebook group that celebrates people’s home-cooked dinners. After one too many asterisks-of-judgement, the group admin posted the immortal statement: “Our group isnt for spelling bee critics! Bullying is not tolerated! Keep in mind we have some amazing but dyslexic cooks. Spelling doesnt affect their cooking so please keep the negativity to yourself”.
A post can be effective and engaging, without being grammatically correct. Social media gives a voice to people who were previously not heard in traditional media. Surely the world is a better, (if less grammatically strict) place for having greater diversity of voices in the conversation.
Erica thanks for sharing your thoughts, as you have said not everyone thinks it is important to worry too much about grammar and spelling. This has been a talking point for some time and will continue to be I imagine.
All types of written communications can be subjected to misinterpretation, not using correct literacy or grammar can add to this. People are brave behind their keyboards and you see a lot of Facebook posts lose their meaning as “trolls” pick on people’s inability to use correct grammar. Although your audience may be more relaxed and you can use abbreviations etc. Is it a good habit to get in to?
This is a great point. I often find myself shaking my head at the atrocious bullying that passes as a response to literacy and numeracy weaknesses. The trolls are either paid (that’s a thing now!) or they are emotionally impoverished. Communication’s intention is to create relationship, to connect with others and the forum may be a discussion about opinions or facts. If there are problems with how the ball is thrown, it’s harder for the ball to be caught.
Definitely important as social media posts can be misunderstood and misinterpreted so easily!
I agree Alisha. And with social media, you are putting your words into the public domain where misunderstandings and misinterpretations can have serious repercussions.
I believe that Language and literacy skills are still important. Yes on social media and text we often abbreviate words to make communications shorter and supposedly easy to read, however it can be very easy to misread, mistype and misinterpret written communication. Sometimes the message being conveyed is lost when the writer either doesn’t take the time or have the skills to ensure that the details are accurate and written clearly.
As you have said Anna, the message can be lost if the person’s literacy skill is poor. It would be great to see the literacy skills improve in our country.
I agree Anna. The message can be misconstrued and those of us who are older can feel quite intimidated if we don’t know the “lingo”. Personally I often “give up” and move to another post and someone who does spell correctly.
I believe that good language and literacy skills are more important than ever due to the increased usage of social media. Some texts are taken the wrong way due to a lack of words or how the few words were structured in the post. This can set off a series of events as the message was misconstrued and was certainly not the intent of the writer of the first post. Also when language is abbreviated as shown in the article it creates a feeling of annoyance when only the writer knows what it means. It can make people feel “dumb” and it could certainly put people off replying or joining in the conversation.
Monica, you have a good point, it can be annoying if the writer has not bothered to check the readability of their writing before posting to an online forum…. and what is the point of posting anything if people cannot understand you.
Very Good Point Monica, I totally agree with you as good Language and literacy Skills are very important, as the series of events that the wrongly worded message can trigger can be devastating and also very demining to other readers if they cannot understand the message, and they will not join in the social conversation in case of ridicule. These wrongly worded messages can also create concern for others wellbeing.
I believe it depends on who our audience is. If its just friends and personal contacts, then I think the importance of Literacy and Numeracy skills in social media may not be as critical. However if the messages going out are potentially reaching work colleagues, customers and business contacts, then yes I believe these skills are very important. We need to be mindful that even slight errors in communication within social media can easily misinterpret the meaning of what was trying to be communicated.