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Argument Essay
Argument Essay
Charlotte Kuhn
Prof. McGriff
Comp. 1
3/12/2020
Are texting and social media helping or hindering us? Some people think society is losing
its ability to hold face-to-face conversations, have a lack of vocabulary, and do not know how to
write using proper grammar because of texting and social media. On the other side of the
argument, individuals believe that this is not true. For this argument paper, I will debate for the
pro-side of texting and social media helping people. I hope to shed light on the facts of texting
and social media so people can see the positive effects texting and social media provide people.
Specifically, the boom of communicating through texting and social media, how texting and
social media platforms have significantly expanded our exposer to new vocabulary, and that
First, let us discuss the boom of communicating through texting and social media. Chan,
Melanie. The Dying Art of Conversation,”has technology killed our ability to talk face-to-face?”
stated, “What with Facetime, Skype, Whatsapp and Snapchat, for many people, face-to-face
conversation is used less and less often.” This statement may be true from some people’s
perspective, but for other people that may not enjoy face to face conversations with other people,
those social media apps and texting is a way of helping them communicate and stay connected
with other individuals and the world. However, this does not prove that we are not
communicating less. Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. ”Don’t Make Them Scroll Up”,
stated: “With just a few taps on a keyboard, we can connect with what others have said not only
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throughout history, but right now, in the most remote places” (166). It is not that we are not
communicating less we are just finding different ways to include everyone in the big umbrella of
communication. People have always tried to find new and more natural ways of communicating.
Communication has changed throughout time and has evolved into many ways in which we can
communicate. Just to name a few ways we can communicate without having in-person contact is:
calling someone, sending an email, writing a letter, send a text, using skype, or facetime with
other individuals. All the ways I listed are a multitude of ways to communicate. At one time or
another, every one of those forms of communication was believed to be a way of ending in-
person communication, but here we are today still communicating face to face with other
individuals. Since we do not all enjoy communicating the same way, the more choices we have,
the more people can stay in communication with other people, whether it is texting or talking to
someone face to face. There is not just one way of communicating. People have always either
been face-to-face communicators or shy individuals who never socialized. The difference in
communicating these days is that texting, and social media platforms have provided people with
the ability to choose what works best for them to communicate with friends, family members,
and other individuals around the world—allowing people to be more connected than ever before.
Next, let us look at how texting and social media platforms have significantly expanded
our exposer to new vocabulary. Pinker, Steven. “Mind Over Mass Media”. “Knowledge is
increasing exponentially” (1031). One would say that it has not caused catastrophic damage, but
it has changed because vocabulary is a breathing organism that has continued to evolve
throughout time and will continue to change into the future. Words that were once not in the
dictionary are now in the dictionary. There is even an urban dictionary these days for slang
words we use in everyday speech and writing. Pinker, Steven. “Mind Over Mass Media”.
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“Knowledge is increasing exponentially” (1031). Do you know the word Scriptophobia? I did
not know this word, but because a friend posted it on social media, I was able to have the
exposer to this new word, what the definition of the word is, and how to use it in a sentence. Just
stop for a moment and think about twenty years ago how we lacked exposer to new vocabulary
words compared to today. If one wanted to learn a new word twenty years ago, they would have
to either wait till they were around a dictionary, own a complete set of encyclopedia’s, or head to
the local library and start reading books. Now people can be anywhere with phones or computers
to have new words smack them in the face. Texting and social media are not killing our
Finally, the last point to discuss is that proper grammar is not declining because of texting
and social media. Alix, “Grammar in the Age of Social Media” “With social media and
technology expanding daily, students and the general public are beginning to embrace shortened
"text-speak" as part of an overall trend of using bad grammar, bad punctuation and bad spelling–
all for the sake of convenience and speed.” People these days are writing and are not using
capital letters, commas, or periods in their sentences when texting and posting. The real question
is, did the indented person understand what the text was trying to relay? Text and post are not
academic essays or formal documents like a last wheel and testament. So, why work harder when
one can work smarter when relaying a simple message. This concern of lacking proper grammar
skills is made by individuals who have a strong love for proper grammar. They see a post or read
a text that has incorrect grammar and blame technology for allowing people to become lazy
writers that do not follow the current grammar rules. Crystal (901) points out that “Many texters
alter just the grammatical words (such as “you” and “be”).” What about a court reporter? Their
job is to write in shorthand all day long. Why does this not upset the same people that have
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issues with improper grammar in text and social media posts? It is just part of their job to make
the text easier for relaying certain information to other individuals, just like when someone sends
a text or writes a posting on social media. If we dive deeper into this discussion, we could even
debate that people no longer talk in proper form, but we hardly ever hear about this debate
because it has taken decades for the changes to take effect, and now it is just the way we talk.
The same can is for proper grammar. We do not write the same as individuals did centuries ago,
and centuries into the future, people will not write or talk the same as they do today. It is not that
most people are unable to write in proper grammar when sending a text or posting on social
media; it is just easier to use shorthand, abbreviated words, and emoji’s when relaying a quick
This argument discussion is about the change of times and how texting and social media
have helped people. The real argument discussion should have been how people do not like
change. People will continue to socialize through face-to-face interactions just as people will
continue to communicate through texting, social media, facetime, or whatever the next creation
of communication is because we have the choices. Vocabulary is on the rise. We read now more
than ever before, and that causes us to have exposure to new words we would have never seen in
our lifetime thanks to the convince of texting and social media. Proper grammar is a skill most
people have; they just chose not to use it when sending a simple text or post because it is easier.
Mark Kennedy said, “All of the biggest technological inventions created by man - the airplane,
the automobile, the computer - says little about his intelligence, but speaks volumes about his
laziness.”
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Works Cited
Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. “Don’t Make Them Scroll Up.” They Say/I Say.4th ed.,
Chan, Melanie. “The Dying Art of Conversation – has technology killed our ability to talk face-
conversation-has-technology-killed-our-ability-to-talk-face-to-face-112582.
https://www.aaeteachers.org/index.php/blog/677-grammar-in-the-age-of-social-media