There are few, if any, studies that support the claim of causality between language variances used in text messaging and negative effects on other more formal modes of written communications. That said there is a great deal of anecdotal evidence that supports both negative and positive outlooks.

I’ve been reading everything I can put my hands on for days and it’s beginning to look like another passing panic. I’m wondering if part of the criticism is because teens have taken ownership of text messaging as their mode of communication to use in creating and maintaining their social circles.

The concerns parents and teachers have about negative effects of text messaging on language skills are balanced by many linguists who claim that learning variations of a language strengthens and expands skills. Perhaps the well-intentioned concerns surrounding text messaging and negative effects on the language skills express the existing concerns about perceived declines in children’s language skills and a desire to elevate those skills.

Our modes of writing emails or IMs have already set in motion a hybrid language that blends our writing and speaking styles. Text messaging has taken another step away from the traditional differences between the formality of our written language and our spoken language which is often much more casual. It is also taking brevity of language to a new extreme.

But before you can deviate from a standard you must have a concrete sense of the rules of that standard and then get creative. It is not an either or situation. It’s a get it right then play with it routine.

Abbreviation requires a sense of the sounds of words, letters and numbers and an awareness of whether a homophone might lead the reader to misunderstand the meaning of a message. Abbreviations require pragmatic decisions and knowledge that there are such things as alternative spellings.

Onomatopoeic, exclamatory spellings combine creativity and a bit of humor (arrrgh!,WooHoo!)—creativity and humor are something we can all use a bit more of. And if the replacement words used in texting-- technically paragrams, but commonly known as extonyms, adaptonyms or cellodromes -- are becoming part of regular teen banter then more power to them. It is their own language—much more creative and less annoying than Pig-Latin. If they cross over the line and use this language in inappropriate situation it’s more likely a challenge than a mistake.

The most prominent concern seems to be that children who frequently text message will lose their ability to identify and use proper grammar. But children realize that language is context specific. The ability to move between modes of language--to "code switch" is not new to children who can be real chameleons on many levels. They behave and speak differently with a teacher vs. another student. They know that the formality of manners and speech appropriate to use with friends will not do at all at grandmother's house. They write with different levels of formality when doing their homework or passing notes.

Are teens who text message going to lose their ability to use proper punctuation when necessary? I don’t worry about lack of punctuation. My concern is over use. I’m with Terry Pratchett when he tells us that: “Multiple exclamation points are a sign of a diseased mind.” And the late great Kurt Vonnegut Jr. delighted me every time he called semi-colons “transvestite hermaphrodites, standing for absolutely nothing. All they do is show you’ve been to college.” Yes, too much is much too much. Too little punctuation and your lose your audience.

Text messaging does not change the way teens use punctuation though. It becomes another plaything. If we are concerned that children learn proper punctuation let them to read their own writing aloud. Encourage an appreciation of the nuance punctuation allows.

The use of acronyms drives me crazy. The first time someone wrote BRB to me in an IM I thought the poor fool was drowning. And let’s talk about pictograms, symbols & emoticons. A picture can be worth a thousand words but these aren’t.

I am not much of a text messenger and surely not an enthusiast. However, the several matters that are of great concern to me are not text messaging-specific. The issue of etiquette and personal communication devices looms large in our society. There are no social constructs that protect us from the hurt of sitting beside someone who is busy texting or phoning people in far away places. I am so saddened seeing people walk down the street talking on their phone instead of being where they are. When I take a train I want to stare out the window and daydream to the sounds of the train. I move multiple times in search of peace and quiet. I am stunned by how out of contact we are with the world around us because we are so busy messing with our communication devices. AND I AM TIRED OF LISTENING TO OTHER PEOPLE’S PHONE CALLS.

And how does this affect our written and spoken language skills? What would it be like to go to lunch with a friend and have no interruptions? Might we remember the art of lively conversation? What about paying attention to the people surrounding us—noticing how they look, what they’re doing, if they’re humming (sans earplugs and ipod).

What will happen when we all forget how to wander through our neighborhoods and our own thoughts? You can’t have an imagination if you don’t daydream.

What is absolutely true is that our children are writing shorter pieces. Is it because we are truncating language when we text? No. We are truncating our lives. We have less to write because we see less, notice less, knock around ideas with our friends less. It is so much the same as fear of television rotting our brains—it’s not so much what we watch, who we call, how fast we text, what gaming we prefer—it’s what we are not doing when we are fumbling with our little techno-toys.

And before I step off my soapbox can we talk about health? My opthamologist has instructed me to take breaks from my computer screen, walk to a window, look at the most distant point, and stare blankly. Has anyone told you how to give your eyes a break?

We are heading for a huge health crisis—arms, wrists, thumbs—what on earth will happen to our thumbs? We are overusing so many muscle groups but not being taught how to stretch gently or practice exercises that reverse the way in which a muscle is overused repeatedly?

Actuality—we must return to actuality for long vacations. And take some time to think about the bigger picture—about balance. Panicking at each technical shift just distracts us from doing the real work of figuring out how to raise our kids to be compassionate human beings and from taking the time and care to examine our own humanity.