Some educators have warned that the prevalence of mobile phones and the internet has a negative effect on adolescents’ academic ability. I agree with this view.
Firstly, the wide use of “Internet English” is regarded as the culprit of the declining writing skills. One obvious reason is that young adults may make some grammatical mistakes unconsciously because of the frequent use of improper abbreviations and punctuation on mobile devices, and this might pose a threat to their future career where a professional writing ability is required in most companies. Therefore, many linguists have expressed their concerns that the instant messaging and chatting on mobile phones might harm the ability of using formal written English.
Secondly, the poor reading proficiency can be put down to the frequent use of technologies as well. Compared to the older generation, young people today are cluttered with different gadgets, like iPad and iPhone. For instance, with easy access to wifi, they can surf the internet anywhere and anytime to follow the latest information of their idols in another country. However, most social network deliver fragment and useless information, which not only steals time way from solitary reading but also undermine the ability to think independently. In my opinion, this phenomenon should be reversed as soon as possible because reading has a profound effect on a nation’s future.
In conclusion, while these electronic devices make the communication much more convenient, I am in the camp that they might affect young people’s academic performance negatively.
