Texting: The Downfall of America

2moro When the hell did it become okay for us to accept that as TOMORROW? Kids can’t spell and it’s not their teachers’ fault.  Parents… if you’re using this language to text… STOP… you’re killing this country.  Whether you agree with President Obama’s politics or not, the fact remains that he told you what you needed to hear during the State of the Union.  The USA used to be FIRST in the world when it came to education.  We have fallen to the point where, not long from now, we won’t even be in the top 10.  Step up your game.  You learned to spell.  Use your noodle and open your eyes.  You have a computer (obviously you at least have access to one – you’re reading this).   USE IT.  Look up words you are having a problem with.  Not everyone can spell every word, but TOMORROW?  Come on! There are lots of acronyms, too.  LOL ROFL LMAO (I could continue…) Sometimes, but only sometimes, they’re acceptable.   What isn’t acceptable is when Little Jack / Little Jill turns in a creative writing assignment that contains the sentence:  “I was LOLing so hard that I almost wet my pants.” By the way… that’s an actual sentence from an 8th grader’s creative writing assignment in Colorado.  The teacher claimed that the overall story, which was only three paragraphs, was well-crafted and original.  She gave the student an F for his efforts.  He used chat speak throughout the assignment.  She had a conference with his parents and reports that he no longer has a cell phone and is using proper grammar and spelling in his assignments. THIRD – Why would I want to spend an hour involved in a conversation by text message, rather than have an actual conversation.  I see people doing this all the time.  I DON’T UNDERSTAND!  If you have time to have a voice to voice conversation, get it done and then move on… if you don’t have the time – DON’T TAKE UP MORE OF WHAT YOU DON’T HAVE BY HAVING THE CONVERSATION IN WRITTEN FORM!  Once again… STUPID! FOURTH (and last)  Text messaging interrupts so many face to face meeting it is starting to disgust me.  I’m having dinner with my family over the holidays and when I look up, my sister-in-law is just texting away and has no clue that we’ve been talking to her for the past five minutes.  YOU ARE NOT THAT IMPORTANT!  Spend the face-time you get with people, looking them in the eyes.  We’re becoming so walled in by the technology that surrounds us that we’re likely to become those people we laughed so hard at in the movie WALL-E. That’s my rant.  I’ll step off of my soapbox and let someone else have a go! Thanks. Chris]]]]> ]]>