What does it say about today’s youth when I am surprised and impressed to see a teenager on Facebook use an apostrophe while spelling the contraction for ‘you are’? It is mind-boggling that it has become so common for kids to get it wrong that when they get it right it’s noteworthy.
I don’t know anymore whether to blame the school system or the cell phone companies. I mean, you’ve got to give the kids their due. When they’re being hassled by their parents to cut down on the text messages, what better way to save space than, for example, to use ‘u’ instead of you? I’m guilty of it myself -but only when I’m driving. Kidding! I don’t text and drive. But the practice of this cell phone ease carried over into everything else is utter laziness. Why don’t they care? Is it just me or is there some amount of dignity in at least trying to do things right?
Maybe it is the schools’ fault. What are they doing to make kids pay attention? I was flabbergasted to find out that the penalty for skipping high school is suspension. You want to take a day off? Why not take four? Go on, enjoy yourself!
It’ll give u more taim 2 fuck up you’re grammer on Facebook!
lindaghill.com 
April 20, 2013 at 10:42 am
I hate the way kids today have turned being totally unintelligent into a “cool” thing.
LOL, OMG, LMAO, GGL, hhyt,
Okay, that last couple were just made up but you get it. When did it become cool to not use the English language properly?
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April 20, 2013 at 10:47 am
You actually just brought something to mind. My Deaf son, Alex, has a communication book he brings home every day from school for his teacher and I to keep up with his progress – his teacher wrote ‘lol’ in his book on Thursday…
I’d write a post on it but I think I’m too embarrassed.
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April 20, 2013 at 10:50 am
Sorry, I totally got caught up in my own thing there. Just woke up – kids with their dad this weekend – no coffee yet – you get the picture.
But to really answer your comment, it makes you wonder what the world is coming to and where we’re going, doesn’t it?
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April 20, 2013 at 6:59 am
The vast majority of the youth these days don’t care enough about English to get it rightly. Like most things, it’s a sign of the weakening of the upper class.
Long ago, it was the Norman warrior kings whose strength and leadership established kingdoms. Then later, it became the monarchies and systems of governance that established nations. These gave way to robber barons and our modern-day commerce-run kleptocracies. And now that the economic leaders themselves may teleconference and Skype their “leadership” into the boardroom, a powerful presence in leadership is no longer a requirement.
Kids are generally too stupid (Let’s face it.) to come up with these milieus on their own, so they adopt these laissez-faire attitudes from their parents. When the “cool kids” (also, typically, the “rich” kids) start doing it, others catch on and mimic their hands-off approach as best they can all the way down the food chain. It generally ends up just becoming idiocy.
And that’s what you see on Facebook. *takes a bow*
– Emperor Lu Bu
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April 20, 2013 at 10:40 am
Rightly so.
So you figure it’s leeched its way all the way up to government? Sheesh, what’s the world coming to?
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April 20, 2013 at 1:39 pm
Not ‘leeched up to” – rather “trickled its way down FROM”.
And it’s not government that’s truly in charge anymore. It’s the big-money: banks and corporations. “Follow the money” used to just be how to solve high profile murders. Now among the poor in America, it’s a lifestyle.
Be careful who you make into your heroes, kiddies. That’s all I’m saying.
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April 20, 2013 at 6:44 am
“I’m guilty of it myself -but only when I’m driving.”
Hehe… ur 2 funny.
I always admit to my students that an inability to correctly use apostrophes is my pet peeve. Truly. Above and beyond every other writing issue.
Have you read Jennifer Egan’s “A Visit from the Goon Squad”? It was the 2011 Pulitzer. You’d probably dig it. Once I have some coffee, I’m going to finally get around to finishing a blog post about it and a few related topics about language and its evolution and/or decay. I love this topic.
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April 20, 2013 at 10:36 am
Thanks, I’ll check it all out. Looking forward to your post 🙂
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April 20, 2013 at 1:54 am
I am waiting for you to run into an igloo texting and driving =P
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April 20, 2013 at 10:37 am
Also known as, how to turn someone’s house into a drive-thru. 😀
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