Does texting hurt your ability to properly use grammar?

Many communicators around the world insist that it does. If you’re in this camp, there are now facts that can back you up. How gr8!

OnlineCollege.org created an infographic based on survey findings that say techspeak, the shortened language people use to quickly communicate via text or digital technology, affects one’s ability to properly use grammar.

Middle schoolers are the most likely to use techspeak—they send more than twice the amount of text messages than any other age group. It’s also the most detrimental to them, as the middle school years are the most formative learning years in a person’s life. The study concluded that middle schoolers who use techspeak may have trouble switching back to traditional grammar when they need to.

Here are a few telling statistics:

• Fifty percent of surveyed teens said they don’t use proper punctuation or grammatical marks when they write text or instant messages.

• Almost 90 percent (86 percent) of teens think having good writing skills is important for success in life.

• Eleven percent of teens think electronic communication has a negative impact on their writing skills.

And here’s a doozy: 64 percent of teens admit they’ve used techspeak in classroom writing assignments.

Check out the graphic for more:

(View a larger image.)