How Does Texting Affect Teen Literacy

Since the start of the 21st century, cell phones have become a necessity for the everyday lifestyles of most teenagers and adults. People depend on their cell phones to do everyday tasks within their professional and personal lives. However, growing up within an era centered around technology and digital communication, teenagers are more prone to using cell phones. Throughout the modernization of cell phones, digital forms of communication have remained the most common use for cell phones. Among the various forms of digital communication, text messaging is the most popular. Teenagers send and receive more text messages than any other age group. Inquiries involving teenagers and texting have displayed that texting affects the literacy for a majority of the teens who text. Studies have identified beneficial and detrimental effects of teen texting. According to studies involving teens, texting has had both positive and negative effects on teen literacy.
In today’s society, texting benefits many teenagers as it is a useful tool for quick and easy communication. In addition, texting is a learning hub and a way for teens to interact among their peers using their own knowledge. Texting is the preferred form of digital communication among all age groups, especially teens who have adopted texting as their “favored communication hub” (Lenhart, Ling,
Although schools cannot control what happens outside of the classroom, they have implicated rules for texting in school. Most schools do not allow cell phones to be out during class, but students often times sneak texting on their phones. A study reported that “64% of teens text during class” (Anderson 2). Individual teachers have also noticed a shift in the writing skills of their students due to texting. Carrie Buchanan, a high school teacher says “students have become dependent on electronic spell-checkers” (Sutton