Texting no fun if writing is a struggle

THE informal language of text messages can be a social barrier for children struggling with reading and writing, says University of Tasmania researcher Nenagh Kemp.

The senior lecturer in psychology said digital communication research she did with colleagues in the UK revealed some surprising results.

“It is a bit of a paradox because for children who are already good at reading and writing, it [texting] seems to help them get even better, because they get to practise reading and writing more, and more creatively, and for kids that otherwise wouldn’t be reading and writing a lot, it can help them too,” Dr Kemp said.

“But for those who already find reading and writing a challenge, having to deal with a new set of written language patterns, however unconventional, can bring the stress of school-based literacy activities to social interactions as well.”

Dr Kemp was among the presenters at the Peter Underwood Centre for Educational Attainment’s Education Transforms symposium.

She said many messages were written in “textese” — a style of abbreviation initially driven by small screens, character limits and an alphanumeric keyboard common on earlier mobile phone models.

These days, the style has morphed into a social statement, Dr Kemp said.

“Being competent at composing digital messages can make the writer look cool or clever.

“Getting the writing style not quite right can encourage others to form negative opinions of the writer.

“They might be excluded from a quick-fire, fun conversation. They might not get invited into these social worlds of digital communication because they can’t respond as rapidly and they can’t be as witty as others.

“It would be like being in a foreign country where you can’t join in as much because you are not as fluent in the language as other people.”

The symposium, at UTAS, continues today.