In the morning, our staff room was abuzz with the regular prattle. Classes over, we yanked out the mobile phones languishing in silence in our bags. With bent necks, scanning eyes and clicking thumbs, we soon got engrossed in our digital universe.
In graveyard silence with only the sound of the ticking clock, we were mindlessly or busily occupied. I glanced at my phone and saw a text message. The number seemed strange and I failed to recognise it. The text zapped me. It read, “I have the money IDK [I don’t know] how much and I’ve hidden the body NP CU [no problem, see you] soon and UDI [unidentified drinking injury] this time! XOXO [hugs and kisses].”
There he was, I said to myself, Sid is again up to his tricks trying to spook me with horror. I’m sure he’s been on a diet of spine-chilling thrillers!
In the past few decades, text messaging has given us an unprecedented, whimsical flexibility. The glorious English language has been spirited away and its purity and mellifluous beauty given a decent burial. The complexity, nuances and subtlety have all but disappeared, with the blatant disregard for grammar and spelling.
The electrifying speed of SMS has irrevocably changed our use of the English language.
Haven’t we become a society of prolific writers? Every week, we thumb thousands of words. Love affairs blossom and romances flower and soon end. Friendships are cultivated, hopes nurtured and plans made. Ideas are sparked, arguments are picked, news is shared.
Typing is the new talking. Our minds and souls are colonised. Our lives are filled with texts, e-mails, instant messages. It’s our new-found obsession. Granted they are easy, quick, immediate, efficient and indispensable too at times. Granted they can be warm and friendly but they can also lead to grave misunderstandings with dire consequences.
We surely see a void, don’t we miss the richness and texture, the descriptive depth of face-to-face spoken exchanges? Text messaging in comparison seems thin and artificial, stripped of life. Imagine tone, facial expressions, emotions, emphasis, body language, accent and gestures all added to our communication. Picture eye contact in real-time conversations and the richness is undeniable.
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