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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.


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.


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.


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


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


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.


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.


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”


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


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


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


•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


•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):

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________________

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):

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Results


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%)


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


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.

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