Researchers from Coventry University in England have been studying a group of 88 children aged between 10 and 12 to study the impact of texting on their language skills.
Their study, published in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology, showed that ‘textisms’ could positively affect reading development.
“Children’s use of textisms is not only positively associated with word reading ability, but it may be contributing to reading development ,” the study reads.
The textisms came in categories, including shortenings, contractions, acronyms, symbols and non-conventional spellings, which were then analyzed for language use next to more traditional schoolwork.
Dr Beverley Plester, the lead author of the report and senior lecturer at Coventry University, said:
“The alarm in the media is based on selected anecdotes but actually when we look for examples of text speak in essays we don’t seem to find very many.”
“The more exposure you have to the written word the more literate you become and we tend to get better at things that we do for fun.”
“What we think of as misspellings, don’t really break the rules of language and children have a sophisticated understanding of the appropriate use of words.”
It’s not the only study to produce this result. A University of Toronto study found that instant messaging had a good effect on language command, the BBC reported.
