LOL! Pew Research Study Shows Text Message Shorthand Slipping into Schoolwork

On Thursday the Pew Internet and American Life Project released a study tracking the way teenagers feel about writing. Among other things, it noted that both emoticons and text message speak are showing up in teens' classroom assignments.

It's not the first time this has come up, as I wrote about this last year. But it is the first time a study has confirmed this. Interestingly, New Zealand began allowing such "shorthand" in its NCEA exams in 2006.

Besides this, students also admitted to channeling Yahoo!'s Jerry Yang, meaning not using punctuation or capitalization in their writings.

Some findings from the study (.PDF):

• 50% of teens say they sometimes use informal writing styles instead of proper capitalization and punctuation in their school assignments

• 38% of teens have used shortcuts from instant messaging or email

• 25% have used emoticons in their school writing

• 64% have incorporated some informal styles from their text-based communications into their writing at school
  

• Girls are more likely than boys to use text shortcuts from IM or email (45% vs. 33%) and emoticons (35% vs. 17%)
  

Another conclusion from the study is that teens tend to consider the socially-oriented writing they do using electronic devices (meaning blogging, text messaging, email) as "communication" rather than writing.

According to the report, the study was conducted among "a nationally representative sample of 700 12 to 17 year olds and their parents in continental U.S. telephone households. The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. The interviews were done in English by Princeton Data Source, LLC from September 19 to November 16, 2007."

Finally, the report intersperses some fascinating quotes. Examples:

I put in 20 hours [per week] plus [texting]. I can’t even count because I mean it’s not like you’re spending a continuous hour writing/texting. It’s just like text, text, text while you’re doing other stuff. – 10/12th Grade Girl, Southwestern City.

Some people they text – somebody could be sitting right here and I could be texting somebody and they’d be standing right there. I mean what is the point? – 11/12th Grade Boy, Northeastern City. [I'll admit I've actually done this with email at work.]

I don’t think [Instant Messaging] is [writing]. You’re not writing enough for it to be called writing. Unless you’re, I don’t know, unless you’re like describing something, if you want to tell your whole life story, or your saying what happened ... but it’s got to be long for it to be considered writing. – 9/10th Grade Girl, Midwestern City.

At any rate I'm sure educators are not going to be ROFL over the report, at least - AFAIK.