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.