Crystal explains that the shortening of words and using initialisms is NOT a new phenomenon. In fact, "people have been initializing common phrases for centuries" (pg 43). Crystal goes on to list several examples of old initialisms like SWALK ("sealed with a loving kiss"), ETA ("estimated time of arrival"), and TTFN (ta-ta for now). Thus, the "outsiders" that think texting has caused an obssession with shortening words and initialisms are wrong. Texting has just shed more light onto this culture's obssession with it.
Besides defending the stereotypes of texting, Crystal also answers some common questions. A common question about texting is why people do it-- I knew I could answer this question for myself, but I was not sure about other people. I do it for four reasons: I am shy and feel more comfortable texting people, I often do it out of boredom(page 110 notes that "the aim is escape"), it can be fun, and in case I do not want people to overhear what I am saying, I can discreetly type a message anywhere, anytime! Crystal not only covers my reasons, but he also goes on to explain five more reasons that I found intriguing-- on page 73 of his book, Crystal introduces a concept that he coins "upping the ante." Friends will play a game where the one will text an acronym and the other will try to lengthen the acronym and outdo the friend. It sounds a bit silly, but it gets the creative juices flowing and is really no sillier than some other board games one can buy at K-Mart. It does no harm. Another reason that texting has become popular is economic issues. In some countries, texting is a lot cheaper than making a phone call, especially if it is a long distance phone call. Crystal also explains that when one wants to quickly give information to someone, this can be done easily by texting instead of calling. A text is short and gets to the point-- as Crystal puts it on page 97, "You can send me a text which gets to the point immediately, and I won't feel you have been impolite." On page 94, Crystal writes that "texting quickly emerged as an index of belonging." I can not relate to this one. Lastly, texting is a "welcome alternative to speech" in noisy environments(pg.94).
Additionally, Mizuko Ito is qouted as saying "mobile phones... have also created new disciplines...accompanied by new sets of social expectations and manners." (pg. 29) I agree with this statement. My boyfriend expects my phone to be on me all of the time. If I do not respond to a text message within 5 minutes, I either get a phone call or another message asking if I am alright. Sometimes it can be annoying. However, it does not work like this with all of my friends. What I really like about texting on the cell phone is that the message I send does not require my friend to be sitting at a computer, for instance. People generally have ther phones on them everywhere they go. I can also respond to a message when I am good and ready to respond and the person will respond whenever they are good and ready to. Texting is very convenient and non-confrontational.
Finally, I would like to say that I am glad that Crystal writes that there have never been any real studies suggesting or proving that texting can degenerate the English language and create teenagers unable to write in proper English. One girl's school paper, which supposedly was done completely in a texting style and never actually found (so probably did not exist), was used to make a general statement about all youngters. He also notes, on page 153, that "conclusions [on such degenerative language studies] are distorted by media hype" and "present an unclear picture." I feel that texting can actually make one better at thinking and writing. I, myself, have full philosophical conversations by texting. Even if I did not, I still get a lot of practice writing that I would not get if it were not for the cell phone.
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