Language is a powerful tool of communication. It helps users send messages, decode meaning and facilitate better understanding. While it plays a critical role in the communication process, its structure, use and form remain important. This importance depends on established and generally accepted norms and structures that have been followed for generations.
But with the advent of social media, the use of language and the process of communication began to change.
When Blackberry Messenger was launched on August 1, 2005, the term ‘ping’ took center stage and people all over the world embraced the concept of chatting with other people in real time on their various Blackberry devices.
The success of the Blackberry phenomenon, especially in the experimentation and influence of social media, led to a new wave of social media networks and chat platforms all trying to unite people globally into what is now known as the ‘global village’.
Since then, many social media chat platforms such as Facebook in 2004, Twitter (2006), WhatsApp (2009), Messenger (2011), WeChat (2011), Viber (2010) and Telegram (2013), and others.
In recent years, the social media craze has become so big that companies have also introduced image and video sharing platforms such as Instagram (2010), Weibo (2009), Likee (2017) and TikTok (2018), among others.
With the new, fast-paced wave of online socialization, online communities have developed their own ethos that guides the communication process. Due to the transient nature of social media and the fast speed of communication, in order to achieve a certain level of brevity, interactions on these platforms have become different languages, slangs and abbreviations.
This social media slang has evolved into a powerful communication tool that young people embrace and use in their online and offline conversations and interactions.
But more worryingly, many young people are unable to distinguish between their use in social media and in official writing, academic matters and exams.
Speaking on the dangers of the trend to learning, the Administrator of Education, Adeyemi Federal University of Education, Ondo, Emmanuel Taiwo Akinola, expressed concern that slangs, social medial language and abbreviations continue to damage quality communication even in the academic activities of students at all levels. .
Akinola says that language is an important aspect of communication because it is considered as “a medium or a means of conveying ideas, an arbitrary system of vocal symbols based on social cooperation; the totality of useful speech in a certain society.
“It is established that language is used in different social contexts and that different variables express the peculiarities in which communication takes place. One of them is social media which allows a lot of communication.
“Communication can be formal or informal, but the language used by the participants determines what is achieved. Communication through social media in the 21st century is a serious phenomenon, which is really developing and gaining popularity globally at all levels, formal and informal.
“Communication through social media allows people to interact or communicate with more people on a global scale, which has a serious impact on writing.”
Akinola said that the use of slang and abbreviations has a negative effect on students’ writing skills, which in turn affects their achievement through communication.
He said that many lecturers, teachers and even their parents have seen the creeping effect of social media on the academic performance of students when giving assignments, class work and exam scripts.
“It has been observed that some students seem addicted to using slangs and abbreviations in writing school notes, assignments and exams. These students often have trouble and difficulty switching from using slangs and abbreviations during exams to using proper English grammar. The actions of these students make readers are confused by the difficulty of understanding the work.
“It also makes students forget the correct spelling and pronunciation of some specific words in English. The increase in the use of social media language, slangs and abbreviations continue to damage formal writing skills and educators and academics have not built a consensus on how to fix the growing problem. With this situation, the future is unclear as more generations of students grow up with technology that includes slang and abbreviations,” he said.
However, Akinola noted that it is important for lecturers, teachers, parents and religious bodies to show the difference between professional writing and common slangs and abbreviations for students at their own level to correct the disorder caused by the language of social media.
“On the part of the students, they must also make a choice whether to use the correct English language to succeed in academic activities. The educational regulatory body must, as necessary, carry out periodic inspections in public and private schools, communicate with teachers and students, as well as check notebooks without notice before, this will cause fear to the students and can develop the habit of using the correct English language,” he said.
An Abuja-based teacher, Hope Lawrence, observed that on many occasions, students use abbreviations in formal communication between teachers and students, especially during exams, essay writing, thesis or research writing.
“They go out using slangs without realizing their use until later. This is because many of these slangs are stored in memory because they are the main part of daily social interaction, depending on how much time is used for this social application and this affects the ability to use language. for expressions that corresponding.
“The implications of this go beyond the incorrect or inappropriate use of language. This is something that has the ability to change the entire structure of the language in a generation and will probably be incorporated into some updated version of the English dictionary in the future.
“Although, in-depth research is needed to understand the level of influence it has had on education in general, it is also important to note the fact that language develops over time,” he said.
Unfortunately, Lawrence says not much is being done to address the trend. However, he believes there is much to be learned and developed from it.
“New topics can emerge and be taught to young children to help them understand and differentiate between social media slangs and real communication language, which is contextual and relevant to the environment and situation.
“Students who can use appropriate language in communication should be rewarded to encourage others,” he advised.
A staff member at the Department of Business Administration, Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, Julianah Adeyi-Akintunde, said that in any society, communication is only effective when the transfer of information from the initiator is received with meaning or understanding by the receiver.
Adeyi-Akintunde emphasized that for information to be useful, appropriate use of English is mandatory.
He said, “It is worrying that slangs have become the order of the day in formal and informal settings. This is affecting education because high school and undergraduate students are now fond of using the language.
He identified some of the effects of these trends including the lack of effective communication skills, persistent failures in the use of language in academia, creating confusion for teachers and lecturers when marking assignments, exam scripts and assessments.
Adeyi-Akintunde cited others for including importing wrong teachings to younger students during internships or teaching practice exercises and making students lose during public debates and symposiums.
As a way out of the problem, Adeyi-Akintunde said there is a need to impose sanctions on those who use slangs in class or when writing, ensure through the supervision of academic activities, regular monitoring of the classroom by teachers and parents and must bring back to mark. notes by the teacher.
He canvassed the introduction of incentives for the proper use of English in schools, and should encourage the culture of reading among students.
He also asked the government to come up with regulations on the use of foul language in schools.
The Admission Desk Officer, Adeyemi Federal University of Education, Ondo, Godwin Omotoyinbo, said that there is a situation in Nigerian schools, social interaction, use of social media language, disrupts learning because communication skills such as writing, reading and speaking are affected.
He said: “The way students communicate with each other through social media and text messaging apps is gradually making its way into the classroom.
“Some terms, which are slang in the text, are used by students in formal communication. Terms like ‘brb’ (right back), ‘uwc’ (Same), ‘idk’ (I don’t know), ‘smh’ (shake), lol (laugh out loud) and ‘btw’ (with method), now generally used in assignments, befuddling some high school teachers, who are not sure how to fix this problem a lot. The regular use of these terms indicates a decline in students’ writing skills.
“Words with capital letters or punctuation are no longer considered, correct spelling and writing is a mirage among students, who consider slang as the new normal.
To address the trend, Omotoyinbo said: “The task must not be left to teachers, parents, school counsellors, government agencies alone, but all stakeholders must come together to fight this menace.
The Main Coordinator, MOLEFO African Language Confidence, Ayodeji Samuel, said text abbreviations in social media messaging should be seen as evolution, the same way languages and cultures develop over the centuries.
“However, millennials need to be educated on how to choose their audience. Writing ‘No Problem’ as ‘np’ to conservative adults can be confusing.
“Youngsters should be aware that excessive word shortcuts or slang may have a negative impact on their writing and spelling skills,” he said.