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Running head: EFFECTS OF TEXTING ON FORMAL WRITING SKILLS Betterson 1
Effects of Text Messaging on Formal Writing Skills
Tangia B. Betterson
Coastal Carolina University
EFFECTS OF TEXTING ON FORMAL WRITING SKILLS Betterson 2
Effects of Text Messaging on Formal Writing Skills
This study will examine the effects of text messaging on formal writing skills. Text
messaging is defined by Dansieh (2011) as the process by which users of mobile and portable
devices exchange brief messages via cellular networks, while the act of sending a text message is
called texting (p. 224). Texting, sometimes referred to as short message service, or SMS, has
become extremely common in today’s society. It is important to study this because texting is a
phenomenon that has not been around for a long period of time. There are opportunities to
discover new and valuable information about the effects of text messaging on formal writing
skills. Learning about these effects could potentially provide information that is beneficial to us.
After all, it is not every day that we find a new medium for language. This is part of the reason
why the effects of electronic communication have already attracted so much attention (Crystal,
2008).
Dansieh (2011), Sweeny (2010), Lambert & Hallett (2009), Spagnolli & Gamberini
(2007) present fairly current research regarding text messaging and its impact on many aspects of
everyday life. Their research explores how texting impacts language and education; more
specifically use of slang, literacy, grammar, and student’s written communication skills.
Thompson & Cupples (2008) and Brett (2011) referred to texting in relation to subjects such as
higher learning and face-to-face communication. Harman & Sato (2011) focused on cell phone
use (including SMS messaging) and grade point average while Ekanjume (2009) was concerned
with the use of SMS messages among academic staff. This study focuses on the effects text
messaging has on formal writing skills. There is little to no existing research specifically on
texting in relation to its effects on formal writing skills so this study will provide new research.
EFFECTS OF TEXTING ON FORMAL WRITING SKILLS Betterson 3
This study is quasi-experimental and uses social presence theory and survey method to examine
the potential effects that texting has on formal writing skills.
Review of Literature
Text Messaging
The purpose of this study is to examine the effects that text messaging may have on
formal writing skills. Text messaging is a form of communication that has become very popular
in today’s society. It is not unlikely for one to see several students at a high school or college
with their eyes glued and focused directly at a cell phone. Ben Parr (2010) reveals that the
average teen sends over 3,000 texts/month (8% more than texts sent in 2009) and that the
number of texts being sent is still on the rise. The article points out that female teens send more
texts per month than male teens. 18 to 24 years send 1,060 texts per month and the average drops
with other age groups. Despite this, the number of texts sent has increased for every age bracket
compared to 2009. The reason for people having a cell phone has also changed. In 2008 safety
was the main reason even amongst teens, and in 2010 teens claimed that texting is the number
one reason they get cell phones.
Ironically text messaging was not originally envisioned as a means of communication
between individuals. It was originally conceived as having commercial use, or possibly as a
service for mobile phones to signal the arrival of a voicemail message (Crystal, 2008). In 2010,
43% of teens say texting is the number one reason they get a cell phone, safety is the second
reason with 35%, and 34% of teens get a cell phone to keep in touch with their friends (Parr,
2010). In this study, I define text messaging as the act of sending and receiving messages using a
mobile cellular device or cellular phone.
EFFECTS OF TEXTING ON FORMAL WRITING SKILLS Betterson 4
Sweeny (2010) points out that information and communication technologies are changing
the way youth read, write, and communicate. They use instant messaging, texting, Twitter, e-
mail, and blogs as mediums for their writing. The article is focused on the idea that the Digital
Age has brought about rapid change in the way we communicate and that educators need to
adapt. It suggests that educators incorporate new literacies into the writing curriculum. For
example, instead of banning cell phone use, some teachers include texting, e-mail, instant
messaging or IM, and Twitter in the classroom. According to Sweeny (2010), “One
example is when a teacher created a blog and sent text messages about a Shakespeare assignment
to groups of students in her class. Each group had a different task to complete. The students
retrieved the text message on a cell phone, worked together on the task, and sent their electronic
response to the teacher via text message” (p. 127-128). Writing, for young people living in an
age of digital communication, plays a huge role in the way they share information.
Similarly Brett (2011) investigates potential uses of SMS in higher learning. This study
used logs detailing numbers and types of texts sent, questionnaires, and transcripts from focus
groups to learn how students would prefer text messaging to be used to support their learning.
Many of the students proved to be unconvinced about the learning potential of SMS and were
concerned with privacy and timing. Another study concerned with student learning is Harman &
Sato (2011) which focuses on whether cell phone use frequency is correlated with grade point
average or GPA. The study found that text messaging frequency was negatively correlated with
GPA, and suggest that the more someone sends/receives texts the lower their GPA typically is.
While researchers have studied texting in relation to higher learning, GPA, and new classroom
techniques, my study is designed to provide insight on the effects text messaging has on
student’s formal writing skills.
EFFECTS OF TEXTING ON FORMAL WRITING SKILLS Betterson 5
Lambert & Hallett (2009) studied texting in a much different way. Their study is
concerned with the relationship between hand preference for sending text messages and hand
preference for other activities. The aim of the research was to examine associations between
hand preference for texting, hand preference for writing, and hand preference for spatial
activities such as throwing. The researchers found that the relationship between hand preference
for texting and hand preference for other activities was surprisingly weak, and that it was
stronger for women than for men. Though their results were surprising to them, they still provide
valuable information that other researchers can build on. In studying the effects of texting on
formal writing skills, my study will provide new and valuable information on the topic.
A study by Spagnolli & Gamberini (2007) deals with the sequential structure of texting
among young adults (25-35) and adults (50-65). It mentions the need for exploring a poorly
covered phenomenon (SMS messaging among adults). Some aspects of social presence via SMS
were investigated by analyzing the social practices of sequential organization that set some
crucial spatiotemporal coordinates to the encounter. The researchers reveal that SMS stages
social presence as characterized by familiarity between interlocutors, or the individual’s texting
one another. The study concludes that SMS has developed a social place with practices for
establishing social presence.
Some people view texting as a way of meeting people and getting to know them. In
Thompson and Cupples (2008) study about text messaging and sociality, teenagers expressed
their thoughts about texting. One teenager stated, “I love texting, it’s like the best thing. It’s such
a great way to meet people” (p. 99). Another talked about how with texting you can think about
what you want to say before you say it and avoid awkward silences that can occur in face-to-face
conversation. The practice of texting can be used to make virtual contact with a barely known
EFFECTS OF TEXTING ON FORMAL WRITING SKILLS Betterson 6
person, maintaining a text relationship prior to meeting, and may actually increase the
information that is gained about the other person. The article acknowledges that texting provides
many socially beneficial dimensions to the users themselves, which are often overlooked by
adults. Also the tendency of teen users to rarely make voice calls and only to text is mentioned in
this article. The importance of texting to young people is all the more reason to conduct a study
focused on the effects of text messaging on student’s formal writing skills.
Formal Writing
In this study I define formal writing as the structured, impersonal, and professional form
of writing that is used often used in academic and business settings. Typically, this style of
writing uses longer sentences, passive voice, and avoidance of personal pronouns. Informal
writing is more personal and simple. Though formal writing is more impersonal than informal
writing, unnecessary jargon and pompous phrases should not be used. (“IMPROVING YOUR
STYLE”, 2004) presents this example of a formal sentence structure, “Research has shown an
interesting connection between vitamin A and cancer, but the exact nature of the connection has
not been conclusively determined.” An example of an informal sentence structure is
“Researchers believe there may be a link between vitamin A and cancer, but they do not know
exactly what it is yet” (p. 1).
Dansieh (2011) found that 84.4% of students studied abbreviated forms of writing in
their coursework in a study concerned with SMS texting and its impacts on students’ written
communication skills. The study explains that this is likely where texting influenced the writing
skills and ability of students. Also, it discusses that generalizing the positive impact of texting on
student literacy could be misleading. By conducting this study I intend to learn more about the
EFFECTS OF TEXTING ON FORMAL WRITING SKILLS Betterson 7
impact text messaging has on formal writing skills. Also, I want to be able to decide whether it is
helpful or harmful. The study will allow me to see if there is a relationship between the amount
that an individual texts and their formal writing skills/ability, and what type of relationship, if
any, exists.
Social Presence Theory
Social Presence Theory is an early theory of communication media. The theory is
concerned with social presence, or awareness of others in a communication interaction. Though
the theory was born during a time when computer mediated communication did not exist, it has
influenced computer mediated communication research (which includes text-based messages).
Biocca (2003) defines social presence as the “sense of being with another” (p. 456). This “other”
may be human or artificial intelligence. Also, it may be technologically mediated forms of
intelligence such as representations of humans via text, images, video, 3D avatars, virtual human
agents, computers, and robots.
Kehrwald (2008) explains, Short et al. (1976) are widely credited as the first to explore
this theory in depth by comparing mediated and non-mediated interactions. Short et al. (1976)
defined social presence as “the degree of salience of the other person in a mediated interaction
and the consequent salience of the interpersonal interaction” (p. 65). Salience refers to the
relative significance of the other person. The media richness and relational views both stem from
this definition. Definitions of the social presence theory later shifted to reflect relational aspects
and imply that relational aspects of communication are dependent upon the individuals in the
interaction rather than the medium. Kehrwald (2008) is interested in responding to the lack of
shared understanding of social presence in online learning and found that participants viewed
social presence as a quality of individuals and their use of online spaces.
EFFECTS OF TEXTING ON FORMAL WRITING SKILLS Betterson 8
In this study I will use the social presence theory to reveal whether people are less likely
or more likely to write well in graded formal papers depending on their level of awareness (or
lack thereof) of the other person (professor, coach, dean, etc.). Understanding how a person
might view the other person involved in an interaction could influence their performance or skill
level when writing formally. This quasi-experimental study will include a questionnaire
instrument concerned with social presence and text messaging frequency. The survey instrument
will require participants to write a formal paragraph to a professor about a specific subject.
The participants in this study are separated into two groups, a “Graded” group of student
participants and a “Not Graded” group of student participants. The Graded group will be asked to
write a formal paragraph to the dean of Coastal Carolina University telling him why they decided
to attend the university. The Not Graded group will be asked to write a formal paragraph to their
tour guide from the university or to imagine they had a tour guide in order to write the paragraph,
also telling why they decided to attend the university. These questions test whether students
formal writing skills are different based on the audience. (i.e., social presence).
Hypothesis 1: The more often someone texts the more likely they will be to display poor formal
writing skills.
Hypothesis 2: In this study, students in the “Graded” group are more likely to display better
formal writing skills than students in the “Not Graded” group.
Method
This study is a quantitative quasi-experiment and uses survey method utilizing a
questionnaire instrument. The population under study is 16 Coastal Carolina University students.
EFFECTS OF TEXTING ON FORMAL WRITING SKILLS Betterson 9
8 students (n = 8) will be selected from the list of student responses collected, using non random
sampling. These students will be emailed through Coastal Carolina University email and asked to
participate in an online questionnaire. Many of the student participants should be at least
somewhat familiar with formal writing, or have had to write formally before. The classes that
they are enrolled in are upper level courses at the university so they have more than likely been
asked to write formally at some point during their education. Further, most of the students are at
the senior level at the university also making it more likely that they know what it means to write
formally.
The instrument used in this study is a survey questionnaire, with quasi-experimental
elements. The questionnaire asks participants some for basic demographic information (their age
and what year they are at CCU). They then ask for information regarding how often the student’s
text and how many texts they send in one day, with a close-ended list of multiple choice answers
to choose from. This information will allow participants to be divided by their text message
frequency, thus creating groups of “high” texters and “low” texters. The instrument will also
collect data regarding who the participants text, who they text the most often, and which social
networking or blog sites they engage in. Responses to these questions will reveal who the
student’s text on a regular basis and the way that they communicate with those people could be a
factor in their formal writing skills as well. For example, if students informally text employers or
professors, perhaps their skills when formally writing to those employers or professors will be
affected negatively.
At the end of the survey participants are asked to write a paragraph (at least 3 sentences)
on a topic. The “Graded” group will be asked to write a formal paragraph to the dean of Coastal
Carolina University telling him why they decided to attend the university. The “Not Graded”
EFFECTS OF TEXTING ON FORMAL WRITING SKILLS Betterson 10
group will be asked to write a formal paragraph to their tour guide from the university or to
simply imagine they had a tour guide in order to write the paragraph. The Graded group consists
of 8 students from a Coastal Carolina University sociology class and the Not Graded group
consists of 8 students from a separate Coastal Carolina University sociology class. The students
in the Graded group are likely to write in more formal way since they are writing to the dean of
their university. They might assume that it will be graded or reviewed for corrections. The
students in the Not Graded group may write in a less formal way to their tour guide, assuming
that their writing will not be graded or reviewed at all or as closely. These questions test whether
students formal writing skills are different based on the audience. (i.e., social presence).
References
Biocca, F., Harms, C., & Burgoon, J. K. (2003). Toward a More Robust Theory and Measure of
Social Presence: Review and Suggested Criteria. Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual
Environments, 12(5), 456-480. doi:10.1162/105474603322761270
Brett, P. (2011). Students' experiences and engagement with SMS for learning in Higher
Education. Innovations in Education & Teaching International, 48(2), 137-147.
doi:10.1080/14703297.2011.564008
Crystal, D. (2008, January). Texting. ELT Journal: English Language Teachers Journal. pp. 77-
83. doi:10.1093/elt/ccm080.
Dansieh, S. (2011). SMS Texting and Its Potential Impacts on Students' Written Communication
Skills. International Journal of English Linguistics, 1(2), 222-229.
doi:10.5539/ijel.v1n2p222
EFFECTS OF TEXTING ON FORMAL WRITING SKILLS Betterson 11
Ekanjume, B. (2009). A sociolinguistic survey of the use of sms-text messages among NUL
academic staff. Nawa: Journal of Language & Communication, 3(2), 14-31.
Harman, B. A., & Sato, T. (2011). Cell Phone Use and Grade Point Average Among
Undergraduate University Students. College Student Journal, 45(3), 544-549.
Kehrwald, B. (2008). Understanding social presence in text-based online learning
environments. Distance Education, 29(1), 89-106. doi:10.1080/01587910802004860
Lambert, A., & Hallett, C. (2009). Hand preference for sending mobile-phone text messages:
Associations with sex, writing hand, and throwing hand. Laterality, 14(4), 329-344.
doi:10.1080/13576500802396545
Learning Commons Fastfacts series. (2004). Improving Your Style: Retrieved from
http://www.lib.uoguelph.ca/assistance/writing_services/resources/components/
documents/style.pdf
Parr, B. (2010). Average Teen Sends 3,339 Texts per Month, December 11, 2012, from CNN:
Retrieved from
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/10/15/teen.texting.mashable/index.html
Spagnolli, A., & Gamberini, L. (2007). Interacting via SMS: Practices of social closeness and
reciprocation. British Journal of Social Psychology, 46(2), 343-364.
doi:10.1348/014466606X120482
Sweeny, S. M. (2010). Writing for the Instant Messaging and Text Messaging Generation: Using
New Literacies to Support Writing Instruction. Journal of Adolescent & Adult
Literacy, 54(2), 121-130. doi:10.1598/JAAL.54.2.4
Thompson, L., & Cupples, J. (2008). Seen and not heard? Text messaging and digital
sociality. Social & Cultural Geography, 9(1), 95-108. doi:10.1080/14649360701789634
EFFECTS OF TEXTING ON FORMAL WRITING SKILLS Betterson 12
Appendix A: Questions 1-9
1. Which category below includes your age?
•a) 18-20
•b) 21-22
•c) over the age of 22
•d) Other (please specify): _____________________________________________________
2. Select the year you are currently in:
•a) Freshman
•b) Sophomore
•c) Junior
•d) Senior
•e) Other (please specify): _____________________________________________________
3. How often do you text?
•a) Very Often
•b) Often
•c) Sometimes
•d) Very Rarely
•e) Not at all
4. In a typical weekday, about how many texts do you exchange on your mobile or cell phone?
•a) 0-20
•b) 20-40
•c) 40-60
EFFECTS OF TEXTING ON FORMAL WRITING SKILLS Betterson 13
•d) 60-80
•e) 80-100
•f) 100+
•g) Other (please specify): _____________________________________________________
5. Who do you text? (Please choose all that apply.)
•o Friends/Peers
•o Parents/Family members
•o Significant Other
•o Employer(s)
•o Professor(s)
•o Other (please specify): _____________________________________________________
6. Who do you text most often? (Please choose only one.)
•a) Friends/Peers
•b) Parents/Family members
•c) Significant Other
•d) Employer(s)
•e) Professor(s)
•f) Other (please specify): _____________________________________________________
7. Which social networking or blog sites do you use? (Please choose all that apply.)
•o Facebook
•o Twitter
•o Tumblr
•o Blogger
•o Myspace
EFFECTS OF TEXTING ON FORMAL WRITING SKILLS Betterson 14
•o I do not use social networking or blog sites at all.
•o Other (please specify): _____________________________________________________
8. How often do you visit those websites?
•a) Very Often
•b) Often
•c) Sometimes
•d) Very Rarely
•e) Not at all
•f) Other (please specify): _____________________________________________________
Appendix B: Survey Question 10 for “Graded” Participants
10. Please write a formal paragraph to the dean of Coastal Carolina University telling why you decided to attend the university.
Paragraph Entry (Please write at least 3 sentences):
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
EFFECTS OF TEXTING ON FORMAL WRITING SKILLS Betterson 15
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
EFFECTS OF TEXTING ON FORMAL WRITING SKILLS Betterson 16
______________________________________________________________________________
Appendix C: Survey Question 10 for “Not Graded” Participants
10. Please write a formal paragraph to your tour guide from Coastal Carolina University telling why you decided to attend the university. (If you did not have a tour guide simply imagine that you did to write the paragraph).
Paragraph Entry (Please write at least 3 sentences):
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
EFFECTS OF TEXTING ON FORMAL WRITING SKILLS Betterson 17
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Results
EFFECTS OF TEXTING ON FORMAL WRITING SKILLS Betterson 18
A χ2 Goodness of Fit test revealed no significant differences between how often people
text, χ2 = 9.000, p = .061. Of the 16 participants, 7 text “very often”, 5 text “often”, 2 text
“sometimes”, 1 texts “very rarely” and 1 texts “not at all.”
A χ2 Tests for Independence revealed significant differences between how often people
text based on who they text with (χ2 = 16.154, p = .013). Participants who text “frequently” most
text multiple types of people (85.7%), participants who text “often” most text multiple types of
people (100.0%), participants who text “sometimes” most text multiple types of people
(100.0%), and people who text “rarely” most text parents (100.0%).
A series of χ2 Tests for Independence revealed no significant differences between how
often people text based on age (χ2 = 6.674, p = .572), major in school (χ2 = 2.939, p = .568), class
ranking in school (χ2 = 3.592, p = .464), who they text most often (χ2 = 11.857, p = .065), what
social networks they belong to (χ2 = 8.773, p = .362), or how often they visit those social
networks (χ2 = 16.792, p = .158).
Only a few participants (16) completed the entire questionnaire, which likely affected the
results of the study dramatically.
H1: The more often someone texts the more likely they will be to display poor formal writing
skills.
An analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed no significant differences in the number of
mistakes a person made and the frequency with which they text, F = 2.000, p = .250. Participants
who text “very often” had a 1.50 (SD = 0.577) mean number of mistakes, participants who text
“often” had a 3.00 (SD = 1.414) mean, and the participant who texts “no at all” made 2 mistakes.
Only a few participants (16) completed the entire questionnaire and of these a majority (56.25%)
EFFECTS OF TEXTING ON FORMAL WRITING SKILLS Betterson 19
did not complete the questionnaire correctly; these facts likely affected the results of the study
dramatically.
H2: Students in the “Graded” group will be more likely to display better formal writing skills
than students in the “Not Graded” group.
A χ2 Test for Independence revealed no significant differences in the number of mistakes
a person made and the type of audience they were writing for, F = 4.037, p = .101. Participants
(n = 3) who wrote the “formal, graded” paragraph had a 2.33 (SD = 1.528) mean number of
mistakes and participants (n = 4) who wrote the “informal, ungraded” paragraph had a 1.75 (SD
= 0.500) mean. As stated above, the results of this test were likely affected dramatically by the
experiment’s low participate rate.
Discussion
The results to my hypotheses suggest that there are no significant differences in the
number of mistakes a person made and the frequency with which they text, so H1: The more
often someone texts the more likely they will be to display poor formal writing skills was proven
false. The study results also suggested that there are no significant differences in the number of
mistakes a person made and the type of audience they were writing for, thus H2: Students in the
“Graded” group will be more likely to display better formal writing skills than students in the
“Not Graded” group is proven false.
This study encountered major limitations. The limited number of responses to the
questionnaire affected the results of the study. There are not enough responses to accurately
generalize the results to the population. Another limitation of this study is that the student
participants attend the same university as the researcher, which could possibly affect results/
participation in the study. The time the study/experiment was conducted may be a reason for the
EFFECTS OF TEXTING ON FORMAL WRITING SKILLS Betterson 20
lack of responses (conducting during a final examination time period at the university).
However, this study was conducted solely to examine the effects of texting on formal writing
skills. Such a topic has not been studied in depth and adds new information to the existing body
of research regarding text messaging and its effects. Researchers can add to or recreate and
experiment to study this topic and hopefully learn more about it, in order to generalize their
results to a population.