Have teenagers nowadays forgotten how to communicate properly?
You may hear a number of people, particularly from the older generation, say that today’s youth has forgotten how to speak “normally.” They complain about how being on the phone constantly impairs their ability to talk. However, I would argue that this is not true at all and claim that teenagers today have the ability to switch between different forms of language (register) whenever this is necessary.
Of course, it is undeniable that most teenagers greatly prefer texting to face-to-face communication. There are several reasons for this: firstly, texting is an incredibly efficient and convenient form of communication. Since you can send a text message to someone and get a response almost instantly, it makes sense that teenagers, who are often busy with balancing out their free time and schoolwork, would find texting very attractive. Additionally, an advantage texting has over talking to someone in person or even making phone calls is privacy. No-one can eavesdrop on your conversation with someone else when you are texting. Finally, many people love sending text messages because they do not need to adhere to more formal registers of speech. They can just be themselves, talk in whatever way they want, without fear of committing a faux pas.
This brings me to my next point: what type of language do teenagers use when they text each other? As I have already stated, they use a very informal, casual form of language, using a lot of slang words and colloquialisms typical for teens. It is also quite expressive, so emotions can be conveyed by using emojis. I think the reason why young people communicate in this way is to set them apart from the stricter “adult” society, feeling that they can communicate among themselves without being judged.
However, that still does not mean that teenagers are not able to communicate in a formal manner if a situation occurs where it is necessary to speak in such a way. Teenagers can use formal registers of speech even though some people believe that today’s youth is incapable of communication outside of texting. Yet, just because they prefer texting over chatting does not mean that they cannot “talk” in the real world. After all – do you see teenagers writing essays using slang terms and emojis?
by Hofer Andrej, 7ck
English School Newspaper 