The language we use sets a standard of expectation which is adhered to by those we communicate with.  I’ve noticed that as we are given more avenues to communicate with each other, the expectation of quality in our communication is changed and often times reduced.  Or, “t3h Qw/\L17y 0v ur 1337$p33k iz pWnd n00b!!!111!11eleven kekeke”

Lolcats

Over the years I’ve become inundated with tools of communication.  I currently use text messaging, text messaging based social networking services, multiple email addresses, I’m on several mailing lists, another half dozen or so social networking websites, I have a mailing address and a telephone.  In my experience, this is relatively common, especially in metropolitan areas.
As time is often considered as “the ultimate luxury,” these services were developed as a means to save time in some way or another.  The downside of having so many avenues of communication is that people begin to expect instant responses.  In the interest of time and ergonomics, people will take shortcuts in their communications.  I’ve seen vowels removed as well as substituting glyphs, letters and numbers as homophonic replacements for words.  For example, “at” becomes “@” and “later” becomes “l8r.”
We’ve all had the experience of meaning being “lost in translation” in emails and text messages.  Tone of voice, body language and facial expressions are lost.  As communication is compressed into fewer and fewer characters, people begin to rely on their audience understanding what they mean and not what they say.

As language is like a muscle that needs to be used to stay fit, not striving to say exactly what we mean causes our linguistic ability to atrophy.
In her book, “Eats, Shoots & Leaves ” Lynne Truss says:

“In the 1970s, no educationist would have predicted the explosion in universal written communication caused by the personal computer, the internet and the key-pad of the mobile phone. But now, look what’s happened: everyone’s a writer! Everyone is posting film reviews on Amazon that go like this:

‘I watched this film [About a Boy] a few days ago expecting the usual hugh Grant bumbling … character Ive come to loathe/expect over the years. I was thoroughly suprised. This film was great, one of the best films i have seen in a long time. The film focuses around one man who starts going to a single parents meeting, to meet women, one problem He doesnt have a child.’

Isn’t this sad? People who have been taught nothing about their own language are (contrary to educational expectations) spending all their leisure hours attempting to string sentences together for the edification of others. And there is no editing on the internet! Meanwhile, in the world of text messages, ignorance of grammar and punctuation obviously doesn’t affect a person’s ability to communicate messages such as “C U later”. But if you try anything longer, it always seems to turn out much like the writing of the infant Pip in Great Expectations:

‘MI DEER JO I OPE U R KRWITE WELL I OPE I SHAL SON B HABELL 4 2 TEEDGE U JO AN THEN WE SHORL B SO GLODD AN WEN I M PRENGTD 2 U JO WOT LARX AN BLEVE ME INF XN PIP.'”

If people are treated like animals, they will act like animals.  If adults are treated like children, they will act like children.  If children are treated like adults they will act like adults.  We rise or fall to the standards of expectation established by ourselves and those around us.

xkcd.com