A new Generation's Moniker.

[the_borderline]

I have gone by the Idea that every generation has a name. There was the X, the Baby Boomer, and many other names, but yet to be determined is a name for our current young teenage wasteland slackers growing up. How could we not name them? How could this be forgotten? Through careful consideration, I have picked the following for the ages 13-17,

Comments

[counterfeitmuse]

So am I an exception?

...I believe I complete sentences. At least when I have something to say.

[the_borderline]

Righto. You would be on my exception list.

[counterfeitmuse]

Yay!

Or rather...

lik omg yeay!

Juuuust kidding....we need to talk more, but you're not online as much as you were. Or at least not when I'm online.

[leota]

i'm part of generation x, if you accept the definition as people born in the 60's and 70's. i chat with abbreviations, and i have a horrible attention span. my post aren't as bad as the one you posted there, but i do have some LOL's in there. any OMG's in any of my posts are purely sarcastic.

so i might not have the best grammar and i don't capitalize words when i'm typing in my journal or chatting, but i could write an awesome essay on hamlet. i've written dozens of essays for psychology, english and film studies, all but a few received A's and A+'s.

there are dumb and smart people in every generation. it's just that there seems to be so many more of the dumb ones.

[the_borderline]

There's always a mix. I mean I'm not out of the abbreviation club but the point here is that they're going to grow up without knowing what real english looks like. It'll be a new style of ebonics.

[leota]

i agree about that. i know that one day you'll look in the dictionary and the definitions of "their," "there," and "they're" will be interchangeable just because people got too lazy to learn the difference between them. and THAT'S been going on forever!!

the language does change, though, not always for the better... i mean we're not all speaking like the canterbury tales anymore. :(

[leota]

oh, and i just remembered that my diary in grade 7 had abbreviations like "2day" and whatnot. i think i was going through a sinead o'connor a "nothing compares 2 u" phase. i don't think i've ever written "cuz" in my life though.

kids are just kids, you're picking on a generation that hasn't matured yet, ages 13-17?? some of them will grow up, some won't.

[radartybalt]

When I first started using MSN, I used to write in full sentences, with perfect spelling/grammar/etc. Over the years, it has just deteriorated. I've just given up on the shift key. I suppose it dawned on me, over time that no one else bothered to take the time to spell things correctly, so I just abandoned the idea myself. Then again, I suppose it depends who I am talking to, as is the case in real life. Some people I will use slang around, others I just won't. Some people I will say 'lol' or '!!!' too, others I won't. I think I just adapt to however they 'speak', for convenience sake.

And like one of those people in that message board thread you linked to, I too have almost said 'lol' in real life on numerous occasions. Why? Well, it's a good way of replying to anything. That's when I use it on MSN most often, when the conversation is dull or I'm simply feeling too lazy to type something of substance.

Well, that comment turned out longer than I planned it to be.

[the_borderline]

So we should blame Gates?

[whitetide]

this is so good it should get published in a newspaper.

the issue fascinates me and i actually wrote a research project paper on it in my first grade of university. it was entitled "UTKLIN2ME??? - The Use of English in Computer-mediated Communication". apart from comparing emails to regular letters and mentioning text messages, i also analysed a journal entry similar to the one you just posted (it was taken from opendiary) and an irc conversation.

yes :)

take care.