There have also been studies conducted on the topic over the years. Varnhagen et al. (2009) studied 40 adolescent texters between the ages of twelve and seventeen and measured their spelling ability. In conclusion to their study, they “are optimistic that spelling ability is not adversely affected by instant messaging” (2009: 731).  They suggest that those who used more abbreviations and other features of texting were better spellers.

Whenever new technology comes along people always get worried about it, as far as language is concerned. It’s not just with the Internet. When telephones arrived in the 19th century, people panicked because they thought it was going to destroy language. Then broadcasting comes along in the 1920s and people panicked because they think everybody’s going to be brainwashed. Same with the Internet. People panicked because they thought the Internet was going to do devastating things to language. In each particular case, what you see is an expansion of the expressive richness of language. In other words, new ways of talking and communicating come along. The Internet has given us 10 or 15 new styles of communication. Long messages like blogging, and then short messages like texting and tweeting. I see it all as part of an expanding array of linguistic possibilities.

Likewise, there is no evidence that texting teaches people to spell badly: rather, research shows that those kids who text frequently are more likely to be the most literate and the best spellers, because you have to know how to manipulate language.