Autocorrect : GR8 or GTFO?

Autocorrect : GR8 or GTFO?

By February 2, 2016 BlogPost 2 Comments

One of the common themes in both our class discussions and reading materials is the tendency to view the ability to read and write as superior to other forms of communication such as oral traditions. I suppose texting could be grouped under the umbrella of “Being Able to Write”, even though it takes on a digital form. However with all of the built-in features that ensure correct spelling and grammar, is texting lowering our ability to think for ourselves? To develop our own level of literacy, however it may be defined?

I know for myself, I will often times type letters near the word that I am trying to spell in hopes of my phone getting the general idea. With the decline of written word and an increase in communication via screen, perhaps autocorrect is purely helpful (if I’m honest, I’ve used it multiple times already just writing this post). I can’t help but wonder, however, if dependence on a device to magically make us perfect spellers won’t have some kind of negative effect on our ability to recognize and form words on our own.

2 Comments

  • Theresa B Theresa B says:

    Reading your blogpost, I couldn’t help but think of the scene from the movie Easy A where Olive’s younger brother says “I got a B on my spelling test today!” and his mom replies, “that’s nice, honey, but everything has spell check nowadays.”

    I feel like your questions fit into the article about writing technology– do the technologies that help us with writing include spell-check, autocorrect, and find and replace? Do these technologies also require a specific kind of acceptance over time?

  • Kyla P Kyla P says:

    I’ve been thinking about this a lot as well! Personally I would be lost without spellcheck. I always did well on spelling tests as a child but when it came to writing papers my spelling prowess seemed to go out the window.
    I think that spellcheck has become so ingrained in our writing that it will never go away. It’s in conjunction with the impact of the computer and it will most likely only evolve over time. And I think they are widely accepted now. My younger sister’s entire public schooling is conducted with computers now and the use of spellcheck is so natural to her and her peers that I don’t think she even thinks twice about it. Now whether or not that is a good thing is a whole other discussion.

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