It's crazy! When I was younger I had to go to the dictionary to find a spelling and couldn't imagine an instant spell checker at the click of a mouse. I'm not talking about the accepted use of online slang or abbreviated chat but people who actually don't know the difference between 'to' and 'too' or 'lose' and 'loose'...and these are people whose first and only language is English! It seriously makes me cringe.
I feel the same way. I was talking to a few of my friends the other day about how today's children and teenagers are becoming too reliant on technology, and not just for writing, but for math, science, entertainment, work, transportation, etc.
For instance: My cousin was at home playing on his PS3. He texted his mother in the next room and asked if he could go to a friends house down the street to play. When she said that was fine, he asked if she could drive him over (Keep in mind this is about 4 or 5 houses down), then merely sat in his friends living room and played his gameboy, while his friend read a book.
If it had been me when I was his age, I would have gone dowinstant spelling dictionaryn 2 sets of stairs from my room to ask if I could go over to my friend's house. When I got permission I would have gone back up those stairs and packed 5 books, dice, paper, pencils, and figurine into my backpack then go back downstairs to get my bike. Then I would proceed to ride my bike approximately 2.4 miles, pick up my bike and carry it up the stairs to the 4th floor and play Dungeons and Dragons for 5 or 6 hours with 8-10 other people then hang out for another couple of hours. Then I would proceed to pack everything back up, take my bike down the 4 flights of stairs, ride 2.4 miles back home, go upstairs to put my stuff away, then go downstairs and take the trash out, then go to bed.
Not once did I use a phone, a television, an electronic game system, motorized transport, or bad language skills. Why is it so hard for today's children and teenagers to do all this? Because they've been taught that they don't have to.
The fundamental reason is that they're not taught to speak clearly and enunciate accurately.
Haha, I agree! The one that really gets under my skin is when otherwise intinstant spelling dictionaryelligent people can't spell 'definitely'. I see 'definatly' definately' and 'definitly' most often. It irritates me to no end.
I'm in "this generation" that you are talking about and it irritates the hell out of me as well! It's because my generation is lazy and doesn't care to learn the proper meaning nor spelling of words.
Well, I get annoyed at improper use of apostrophes but I do realise that correct usage of grammar, spelling and punctuation is unlikely to contribute much to world peace and so keep it in perspective.
Edit I am talking about possessive apostrophes being used incorrectly. I am English. I still have to disagree. My ex boyfriend works volutarily as a molecular biologist in medical research with great commitment. He could not ever spell my name and did all his exams orally. My daughter will probably never be able to write without the use of spellcheck but is still a valid member of society.
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