Anyway ~ this boy sends her an email that says something bland, a couple of sentences, etc. Every word was in lower case, no punctuation, misspelling out of laziness/bad habits such as 'rite' and 'wats up.'
I just think this "abbreviated spelling/typing" thing is a horrible habit for these kids to get into, and to me it just reeks of no time/respect. Yes, my first thought was, 'If you don't have time to sit and type my daughter an email, spelling three sentences properly, don't write!'" ~ MrsByn
Okay...I'll take a stab at this one since I have older kids who probably helped create this mess we find ourselves in : )
I used to worry about the same things. But, I have found that the emails, IM'ing, and chatting actually have helped my kids to have excellent typing skills...fast and accurate. It really is quite amazing to watch. My son at one time started using the wrong shift key when typing capital letters, I pointed it out to him and showed him how it actually slowed him down...he corrected that habit willingly. He has 4 or 5 IM conversations going on at once many times. I don't know how he does it...and can be playing a game, watching TV or on the phone at the same time.
When he started college at UCI, he had no trouble taking notes in classes, he was so used to typing fast and doing many things at once. I did have to "instruct" him how to address his professors when emailing them in a respectful but casual manner. His first emails were as if he were talking to a buddy. I just asked him for some quick examples for you (over IM - he's at work), he said:
"I went from "Hey Alex" or "Hey Mr. Thornton" to "Dear Professor Thornton," or "Professor Thornton,"
and no "lol"s or cya's or anything like that, no net lingo
as if you were writing an essay, only in letter form"
The abbreviated typing just reminds me of a newer version of the shorthand and doodling and such that we would do in school in passing notes and writing in yearbooks and things of that sort. I think it's just more prevalent today because it's easier and faster on the internet. I wouldn't worry about it too much, but if it really bothers you, you're the mom, what you say goes! Feel free to take a "red pencil" to some of the friend's emails and have them correct them every now and then.
Also, in this age of high tech computer stuff/emails/IM and who knows what will come next, don't feel bad about reading things that come across your computer. Talk to your kids, have an open door policy. Everyone in my house knew there were no secret passwords, we had a family password and I read their stuff whenever I felt it was necessary. I wasn't snooping, they knew very well I kept an eye on things, I was monitoring. We talked a lot about these things. We did have a few episodes, but things were brought to my attention and we handled them right away. For example, a man was posing as a 13 year old on the Left Behind bulletin board. He befriended my son, he happened to live locally and my son wanted to meet up with him at the Harvest Crusade. I approved as long as I was there too, but it didn't work out, of course. I can't remember how we figured out he wasn't who he said he was, but I gave him a piece of my mind and alerted all concerned.
You really can't be too careful these days, you have to be alert and keep your channels of communication open. The kids need some freedom to be themselves and join in on the "conversation," but they also need to know that you are on top of things and are there for guidance, supervision and support.
I'm getting pretty good at chatting myself, usually only with my kids. It's nice to be able to keep in touch throughout the day without really interrupting them too much. I can hold 3 IM conversations at once, although it is a strain. I am forcing myself to use some abbreviations and let some typos through and bypassing some punctuation here and there, but it's not easy for me.
