When I first graduated from college and began working, I remember how annoying I found fax machines to be. Someone from the corporate office could fax you information, and BOOM, you instantly had more work to do. I can't imagine being in an office today and being bombarded with email, texts, tweets, Facebook updates AND faxes!
I resisted Facebook for a very long time (and my husband still does). I finally caved 3 1/2 years ago when my great-niece was born. I knew I would see photos of her much faster if I was on Facebook, and I was correct. The reason behind my resistance was that I wasn't very sure I wanted each and every person from my past to be able to reconnect with me. I think it took me almost 3 years before I got to 100 "friends". However, I must admit that I find Facebook to be a fun way to communicate with people whom I can't see on a daily basis and with those whom I never thought I'd hear from again. I never dreamed I'd see or hear from an elementary school friend who moved out of state when we were in 5th grade! Or that I'd be "friends" with people whom I've met through blogging!
Twitter...I've never tweeted. I don't really understand the point of it for someone like me; although, I can see how it is a useful tool if you own a business or have a product to sell.
Then there's texting. I didn't begin this form of communication until about 2 years ago. Why? Because I can't stand what it has done to the written English language. LOL, LMAO (ugh), IDK, JK, WTF (bigger ugh) and my personal favorite (NOT!), OMG. In my old fashioned school of thought, this text talk is just bad spelling!
So let's talk about my personal favorite (again, NOT!); OMG. Now some people may say it can mean "oh my goodness" or "oh my gosh", but I think we all know it really means "oh my God". I am a Christian and do not use that phrase. In the Bible, the third commandment is, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." (KJV) I give my husband and teenagers a hard time if I hear them use the phrase. And it's definitely not something I want to hear coming out of my 2-year-old's mouth!
About a month ago, the almost 50-year-old in me was compelled to send an email to PBS regarding one of their new children's shows. I was watching the program with my little guy and enjoying it because it is both cute and educational. This particular episode featured some teenage characters. I was stunned when I heard them say, "O...M...G!" I immediately went online to find out how I could contact the people responsible for the show. It seemed the best way to do this was to email them, so that's what I did. My message was brief and respectful; I just expressed my concern over the use of OMG in a PBS children's program. I pointed out that preschoolers mimic everything they see and hear. It took a few weeks, but I did get the following response back from them:
A goal of this series is to get children engaged in the content, and build the math skills taught in each episode, by making the program feel relevant and relatable to today’s children. To that end, the producers have the three older girls, known as “The Teens,” display exaggerated behavior often associated with adolescents, such as loving pizza, texting and using contemporary slang including “O.M.G.,” which the producers felt could also mean “Oh, my gosh.”
We are sorry to learn that you are disappointed with this material and have shared your comments with the PBS KIDS staff and the creative team responsible for (name of show here). The response of viewers – both positive and negative – is an important guide for determining future programming decisions.
Your interest in our content is greatly appreciated. We hope you continue to watch and enjoy your local PBS station.
I appreciate the fact that someone did get back to me, and that they were respectful and professional in their response. I have to say though that I don't agree with the producers over what OMG could stand for. I think we all know what it really stands for. And I think our Lord knows what it stands for as well.
So, do I abbreviate, use acronyms, or simply shorten words when I text? I didn't at first out of principle. However, my almost 50-year-old fingers and thumbs began to protest, so I do use such things as "u" for "you" or "ur" for "your" or "btwn" for "between". I still don't LOL and definitely won't WTF. And OMG? Well...hmmm...maybe...since it could mean "oh my gosh"; HAHAHA...JK!
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