How Facebook is Hurting & Helping Student Writing

Not that long ago, we used to sit down and write letters. Of course, most of us these days don’t bother. Instead, we send status updates on Facebook and Twitter, or write to each other in short texts.

But how are these technologies affecting our writing? And in the case of the younger people who are learning their language skills along with these technologies, is their writing better or worse from these experiences?

Jessica Lahey is a middle school Latin and English teacher in New Hampshire, who writes the “Parent Teacher Conference” column for our partner The New York Times. She believes that writing skills are being eroded by things like Facebook, and other programs that have auto-correct and suggested grammar settings.

Andrew Simmons, a writer and high school teacher in California, however, sees his student's writing improving. He recently penned a piece for the Atlantic called “Facebook Has Transformed my Students’ Writing—For the Better.”