Texting & Multimodal Texts

The most important things I learned from the TedTalk are:

• Just as it is cognitively beneficial to be bilingual or bidialectal, it is also beneficial to be able to switch between texting and speaking formally. These are quite similar concepts.
• Texting is a form of speech--it is more of a short-hand form of communication. It developed in the 21st century as a direct result of technological advancements in communication. 
• Speech has been around for many years, but writing only developed in the latter part of those years. Communication via writing is still a work in progress as it continues to evolve.

But the MOST important thing I learned is that...

Texting is not killing language.

However, it's much easier to think that this is the case rather than to recognize the educational disparities and social inequity that can be directly attributed to our decreasing literacy rates. Upon delving deeper, we can see that texting is not a language but a form of short-hand speech. It's primary purpose is that of communication, and this is precisely why it is succinct and to-the-point. 

Prior to this 21st Century era where we have the ability to communication instantaneously at our fingertips, the methods of communication that existed were much like written letters. These were either typed on a typewriter or they were hand written with all the necessary information you needed to include. Because let's face it, the likelihood of receiving a response within a day or so was highly unlikely. Thus, the generations before us wrote in what we know as formal or standard language. (Writing is a conscious process.)

So, I like to think of texting as a "nonverbal speech." Texting is merely a "new" way of speaking to one another, and should be valued as such. One of my favorite points from the TedTalk is that "texting can be compared to speaking in a second language or dialect." Therefore, switching between texting and speaking can be considered cognitively beneficial.