Do you think TypIn LyK Dis Is.. Omggg.. da coolest thing eVa? Read on. If you use it for communicating online, texting friends, posting in forums, does it make you believe it will create an impression of you that you have a heightened understanding of advanced written communication? That you are really cool, creative and intelligent? Apparently not.
In a much global perspective, it is an indication of a crippled intellect. You could be turned down in an interview if it's manifested that you secretly follow this deviant religion. People will be judgmental in your case much earlier than they should.
I am yet to ascertain as to where contracting words and replicating their spellings with their apparent pronunciation has exactly taken birth. It could probably be my own mobile phone. But the point is, it has spread tremendously.
It might make sense if you make 'you' to 'u' while sending a text message, because of the character limit, but why would you do that online, on forums, emails, or say status updates? Their character capacity easily runs in hundreds or thousands.
Now, a little demographic exposure on the matter. Most of the people who adopt this way are teenagers or people with little or no formal education who have under mysterious circumstances gained access to the internet, and also believe in vehement socializing.
"I livv lyf on mah own terms" automatically conjures up an image of a guy wearing a blazing blue denim jacket, with tight-skinned black glares, wet hair, hands in pocket, standing in a wheatfield of Haryana, looking to make friends. Without any offense to the people of Haryana, of course. And obviously, we Indians haven't given birth to this sickness, but we sure as hell have been great contributors, including our friend above we just mentioned and it has picked force more in the social networking revolution.
Prior to Facebook, there was Orkut that was the ultimate social networking site in the Indian subcontinent, preceded by Yahoo chatrooms, where friendship was all about nudity and longlasting relationships about unfailingly coming online at appointed times.
However, as you go back, you can easily recall this menace wasn't as widespread then, or in fact, existent at all, at that time. One did write in broken sentences, but there wasn't any flagrant violation of acceptable writing patterns.
So, now came the next era, of Orkut and maybe other online forums, where one had a static identity and presence was more regular and punctual.
So, since otherwise impossible,it made a coming together of the world, and people from other countries, especially the Western world, it was a healthy thought that whatever they do, or however they conduct themselves is the actual way of presenting yourself on the net. And after having picked that habit up, everyone had the urge to make the maximum impact and be the most outstanding personality, that led to constant breakthroughs in the generally adopted methods of writing/typing. There were colors, then there were font sizes, gliterring texts, fairy banners, and the unforgettable AlTeRNaTe CaSeS.
Also, not in my mind before I started the article is the usage of Hinglish, an example could be "U ko mujhse kya kaam hoing :P." Ok, though I do not know what to discuss about it.
Anyway, so, the psyche behind it after all, is to be noticed, to portray one's self as creative. But that, unfortunately is not the case. To believe so, is to live in a bubble, and have deluded opinions of creativity. Typing "fine" as "f9" is not at all creative. Coming back to being noticed, if that's what you still do really want, focus on your content, make sense with what you write, and you will definitely be noticed. Also, since there are sO mAnY oF the KinD oUt AbOut oN tHe WeB, typing in proper punctuation, and correct cases will surely make you stand out. Also, if that wasn't enough, this writing style is a sure-shot tool to create a bad impression in front of reasonable people and you can be easily dismissed, neglected or considered juvenile and incompetent to discuss any subject matter.
I'm not saying, completely abhor the internet memes, no, that would be trying to disown yourself from the present times. You can use lol, lmao, omg, stuff like that, I do too,(obviously not in formal communication though) but the reason is, because they are what they are, they do mean something, and haven't had any genuine predecessors, unlike the real English words that are used and twisted.
Conclusively, consider this an honest and solemn appeal that if your English isn't great and you wish to improve it, and this is one of your habits, think of it as the cancer stick of effective written communication and crush it under your feet (or fingers?) instantly. Let there be fuller words, proper punctuations, and correct grammar. I know it's going to be tough in the beginning, but yeah, I see hope! The world is built on it. LulzMwah!
-Written for India Study Channel.
