In the old days, we didn’t much write like talking because
there was no mechanism to reproduce the speed of conversation.
But texting and instant messaging do — and a revolution has
begun. It involves the brute mechanics of writing, but in its
economy, spontaneity and even vulgarity, texting is actually a
new kind of talking. There is a virtual cult of concision and little
interest in capitalization or punctuation. The argument that
texting is “poor writing” is analogous, then, to one that the
Rolling Stones is “bad music” because it doesn’t use violas.
Texting is developing its own kind of grammar and conventions.
Internet: <ideas.time.com>.