Comments on: Survey: Social Media Makes Kids Better Writers

By: Jsparco

Jsparco — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:43:45 +0000

This is very surprising, most of the text I see children writing on social networks use the "l33t speak" lingo. LOL, BFF, HF, G2G, etc. doesn't seem to be like an appropriate use of the English language. If they were writing correctly, as with anything with practice you would assume they get better. direct response media has shown similar results.

By: Liz L.

Liz L. — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:19:30 +0000

My initial reaction was that it is tough to draw any conclusions from a study that is based on self-assessment, yet there is truth to the fact that the more both children and adults write, the more we sharpen our communication abilities and literacy. Engaging in language activities is generally a great thing for children, as is the utilization of vital digital technologies that will undoubtedly be vital to their adult lives. I am not yet a parent, and I am not a teacher in a K-12 school, so perhaps I am not giving enough consideration to the dangers of both having kids online (questionable content), and unsupervised activities (like texting) that can both distract from academics. After all, I know the mother of a four-year-old who is already researching how to handle the “sex-ting” issue. But in terms of the Digital Divide, it is clear that the kids who can have regular access to computers and the internet (whether at home or at school) are at a huge advantage. The Washington Post article about how kids are stressed to complete classwork without the same availability of technology is a pretty interesting read, and relates directly (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/05/AR2009120501746.html?hpid=sec-education). It is great to see that as a society we are paying a greater amount of attention to this issue…hopefully for both children and adults.

By: No They Aren’t “Better Writers” « WiredPen

No They Aren’t “Better Writers” « WiredPen — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 07:34:50 +0000

[...] Other sinners: The Read-Write-Web: Researchers Say the Social Web Improves Kids’ Literacy (Geeks Say ‘Duh’) and Technologizer: Survey: Social Media Makes Kids Better Writers. [...]