Writing is important...LOL

A new study conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project and the National Commission on Writing suggests that both students and their parents believe that writing is extremely important their future success. It also suggests that kids draw a distinction between the electronic communications (text and IM) that they use on a regular basis and actual writing.

However, according to News.com,

Despite that, at least 64 percent of kids age 12 to 17 admit that they incorporate, often accidentally, some informal writing styles from digital communication (e.g., emoticons, "LOL" acronyms, and bad punctuation) into their writing for school.

All of us have received our share of Internet jargon in papers from kids. The real question is how do we stop it? I don't think we're going to put an end to the text message as a communication medium, so somehow, the distinction of which kids are already aware must be further emphasized.

As the researchers summarized,

"There is clearly a big gap in the minds of teenagers between the 'real' writing they do for school and the texts they compose for their friends," Amanda Lenhart, co-author of the Pew report, said in a statement. "Yet, it is also clear that writing holds a central place in the lives of teens and in their vision about the skills they need for the future."