Millennial's Language and Lifestyle: Text Speak - Text Life
by Scott Degraffenreid
A lot of people poke fun at text speak, the abbreviated “gibberish” that younger people use to communicate via cell phone text messaging. For the critics it looks lazy, unstructured and confusing. That's unfortunate because it's really an amazing insight into the minds and lifestyles of the demographic that has adopted it most enthusiastically. Millennials, the generation born between 1982 and 2001, are far from lazy or undisciplined. In fact they may be the most focused generation in living memory. The evolution and proliferation of text speak is an extraordinary microcosm of how of they’re choosing to design their lives.
Text speak is not merely about abbreviating and phonetic spelling, it focuses on and is driven by a need for efficiency and very specific priorities. Text Speak (TS) is more than parsimonious; it's a powerful, condensed method of supporting and developing social networks. Proficiency in text speak is immediately recognized among Millennials as emblematic of a shared commitment to efficiency. Very importantly however that efficiency is grounded in an even greater mutual devotion to relationships.
The principle rules of TS can be described succinctly in the acronym ACE – Abbreviate, Concentrate, Eliminate. Remarkably enough these are also operative values for nearly every other aspect of Millennials lives. They have learned via their constant interface with high-speed, high-bandwidth technology that more and faster is not an imperative in and of itself. Their expectation of technology is that it will afford them deeper and more lasting access to what they believe is really important, people.
By abbreviating not just their text messages but every other aspect of their lives Millennials are choosing people over rules. They are effectively abandoning conventional grammar, syntax and conventions in favor of accessibility. Not only can they reach more people they can evolve new ways of communicating that are specifically adapted to particular networks. In addition to intimacy and security this provides unique conceptualization tools to a dedicated network. This in turn of course can generate exclusive and unprecedented capabilities for that network.
Concentrating communication on specific subjects, rather than trying to cover everything in a single call or meeting allows more people to be involved without wasting time. Multi-texting, sending the same message to many users, requires that the sender focus on only what is of interest to all the users being messaged. It is considered disrespectful to clutter up text messages with content that is irrelevant to many recipients. One text message, one topic keeps people engaged in only the conversations they care about without having to filter all the extraneous dross they don’t want to be bothered with. It concentrates ideas and information in order to achieve optimal network access.
Lastly, Millennials are adept at identifying and eliminating unnecessary steps and elements. Five messages automatically become two simply by leaving out things that are already known and agreed on. Three steps where one will do the job are considered silly. Four people when only two are needed are wasteful. Eliminating all that is superfluous and unrelated makes room for the stimulating and important.
Millennials are creating the equivalent of a Text Life, a Text Universe even, by rigorously applying the simple doctrine of Abbreviate, Concentrate, and Eliminate (ACE) throughout their existence. In doing this they are establishing a robust and distinctive subculture that is increasingly inaccessible to older generations. As this subculture flourishes Millennials may find it more and more bothersome, if not completely unnecessary, to interface with the old world. Perhaps they will arrive at a respectful deference to the Boomers and Gen Xer’s the same way first and second generation Americans evolved a rapprochement of sorts with their non-English-speaking parents? On the other hand it may be simpler to just sever ties altogether.
What older generations have to offer them has little, if any, appeal; unsatisfying jobs that lead to cumbersome obligations and unrewarding commitments. As they invent their own openings for fulfillment in the Text Universe of the future we will become increasingly irrelevant. The fleeting opportunity is to allow Millennials to leverage their amazing aptitude for ACE to reconfigure and streamline the old world, beginning now.
Scott Degraffenreid, Social Network Architect
Scott Degraffenreid is a Social Network Analyst who brings a wealth of knowledge in the areas of business referrals, employee retention and recruiting.
As a Behavioral Statistician and Social Network Analyst, he has participated in projects for over one hundred organizations with accountabilities ranging from survey research, database analysis and field studies to research design and statistical modeling of group behaviors.
Scott’s ability to assimilate and grasp intricate organizational issues as they relate to corporate and market dynamics allows him to bring a unique mathematical perspective to complex environments.
To contact Scott's office: 1.360.830.6692
