I don't know when text messaging started becoming popular because I wasn't paying attention and I wasn't involved with it. In my opinion, it was a mistake for text messaging to be incorporated with cell phones because people have become lazy, using abbreviations, acronyms and Internet slang instead of using correct spelling and grammar.

I don't know what or who's responsible, but the introduction of kids cell phones has made matters even worse. This is leading to a degradation of languages worldwide and if you haven't noticed, you're living under a rock.

Internet and Cell Phone Slang

If I laugh and send you a text messaging containing "LOL", do you know what it means? How about "ROTF", "WTF" or "FTW". It's a sad day when I have to ask young people what something that I'm not familiar with means. Heck, it wasn't until I saw "Nacho Libre" that I realized that combinations of "x" and "o" mean kisses and hugs (with uppercase meaning big and lowercase meaning little). I had already seen it at the bottom of text messages and computer instant messages and was clueless before watching that movie.

Just in case you're as lost as I am most of the time, here are those abbreviations again and what they mean:

• LOL – Laughing Out Loud
• ROTF – Rolling On The Floor
• WTF – What The F***?
• FTW – For The Win!

Of course, there are tons of combinations being used as well, like "ROTFLMAO" which means "rolling on the floor, laughing my ass off". These are the abbreviations that have been around a while and there are some that I still haven't figured out, especially the newer ones invented by kids.

Cell Phone Service Robbery

The problem stems from the fact that cell phone providers charge by the message and each message is usually limited to 140 characters. People try to stuff as much as they can into that 140 character limit to incur the least amount of charges. Who can blame them? The cell phone companies are making a fortune off of people who primarily use text messaging and it's highway robbery considering how little it costs those cell phone companies.

Flat rate text service subscriptions mitigate the cost, but the fees are ridiculous to begin with. Regardless, cost is no excuse to promote illiteracy, especially when Internet slang is being used in the real world. Someone left me a note once and it was signed with Internet slang. Please! How lazy can a person get?

Words are Power

Words are power when combined with a large vocabulary. You don't hear motivational speakers or other speakers you respect using "net speak" or Internet slang, do you? Of course not!

Would you be reading this article right now if it was filled with Internet slang you're not familiar with? I wouldn't and I'd be ashamed to publish an article like that, except maybe as a humor piece making fun of Internet slang.

If Internet and cell phone slang annoys you as much as it does me, I challenge you to use it as little as possible. Nothing bothers me more than trying to decipher things that shouldn't need deciphering. While I can understand text messaging on cell phones using restrictive acronyms and abbreviations, I can't stand to see it in Internet forums or on blogs or other places where people are not charged by the message or character.

I and my wife exchange text messages via Yahoo Instant Messenger when we're not talking by voice using Skype. Neither one of abbreviates anything. We may misspell something between the English and Tagalog translations, but it isn't intentional. If we can do it, given the obvious language barrier (English being her second language while being my first and Tagalog being my second language while being her first), then anyone can. That is, if you really want to.

Notes:

I'll add notes here as I see people searching for certain terms:

1) RT is my first two initials. If you get a text message with RT on it, it doesn't mean it's me. RT stands for "Re-Tweet" in Twitter and could also mean "reply text". Other than that, I have no idea.

2) More test slang:

• BRB – Be right back
• BTW – By the way
• CUZ – Because or cousin
• PO – Pissed off
• R – Are
• U – You
• UR – Your

• Text Messaging Causes Illiteracy and Death
• How to Make Unwanted Cell Phone Texting Partners Disappear
• Cell Phones in the Philippines
• More Internet Slang for Texting Junkies
• SIM Cards and Cell Phones