In terms of Netspeak, I actually do believe that our society as a whole uses this type of language to replace what is in fact correct grammar and spelling in conversations and in social medias. The term LOL has been a hit phenomenon that we have to replace “oh how funny” and “hahahaha.” A lot of people now replace full length sentences with just acronyms and using emoticons to express emotions, I know in text messaging a lot of people use emoticons, acronyms and sometimes just one letter to end conversations and sometimes that is a bit confusing. With the most recent hypes of technology, simply just sending a thumbs up can mean a host of things. I do think that our culture does take it a bit to far with the LOL’s and IDK’s because it shows just how bad we have dumbed down our language. Our culture is starting to write how they text and talk in certain places like school, jobs and professional conversations and that is definitely not appropriate.
I do agree with Baron on stating that Netspeak is a hybrid because it is definitely pursuing us to e-mail and write formal papers inj the language we speak during text and IM. The only thing that I feel is making us write and think in netspeak is that we try to hurry the conversations which enables us to hurry in our every day lives with school and work which is unacceptable. The language of text and IM is more like talking because any person who is definitely educated and knows the correct way to write things I would hope will never write how they text or IM. Texting and IM’ing are quick conversations so you have to think quick which makes us shorten words and come up with new acronyms to replace full sentences. Netspeak is definitely a huge influence on our culture as well as our professionalism.
I do agree that anyone that is educated would know not to write using text language. However, this language has become a second nature and many times people act/write unconsciously. Everything is so fast now and we have so much going on as well as on our mind daily that we react before we think. Although we know that it’s not appropriate to use text language or emoticon in emails or memo but when you are multitasking and trying to get everything done it just happens. This does not make you less educated it just make you human.
It’s important to remember, though, that people’s causal, spoken conversations are rarely grammatically correct. In fact, when you look at transcripts of recorded conversations, you see lots and lost of people repeating words, saying things like “um” and “like” a lot, stopping and re-starting sentences and thoughts. If we look at the purpose of text messaging, it is almost always to do things that are not formal – ask people how they are doing, schedule meetings, a lot of it is what we call “phatic communication*.” Does it matter if this kind of communication i uses shorthand?
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phatic_expression
I would definitely agree that netspeak is making people less professional. Although I would never email a client the same way I would text a friend, I remember being a freshman and having a professor pull up an email he had just received (names blurred). The student had missed a class and was trying to get excused for it- while using slang, acronyms, shortened words that made no sense, and lots of other netspeak. The professor chastised this student pretty harshly and said that anyone who writes like that does not have his respect. That has stuck in my mind and makes me conscious that my communication says an awful lot about me.
I think that there is a time and place for netspeak and in a professional atmosphere is definitely not the place. If you are around friends and happen to say LOL or something like that then its okay. But, in a professional setting you have to have your game face on and forget about the netspeak.