Welcome to the Grammar Minute, where we’re saving the English language sixty seconds at a time! I’m Lauren Smyth, and we’ve all heard it said that texting with bad grammar gives us sloppy writing habits. But what about social media? What’s that doing to our writing skills?
I’d argue it has two effects. Firstly, and beneficially, social media can make reading a more popular pastime. I’m not talking about things like BookTok (rest in peace) or Bookstagram. I’m talking about how captions, text posts, and so on force the viewer to read—usually at high speed, which can actually be a good exercise for the brain. The downside is that the viewer doesn’t have to remember any of it, which means that social media content can be bad for the attention span and memory. As we all already know.
To reap the benefits of social media, learn to spot grammar errors. Read carefully. Quiz yourself. And, of course, don’t spend all your time on the gram.
That’s your Grammar Minute! Visit thegrammarminute.com for more tips and tricks.