MSN Messenger: The Downfall of Our Society

By Victoria Pazzano and Jennah Khaled

In the past five years, kids and adults alike have been strongly captivated by MSN Messenger, the new way of Internet communication. It’s a great way to chat online...or is it? Before MSN messenger, life was quite different. Students actually read, wrote, and had real conversations, face to face. We want our society to become more intelligent, so why are we discouraging intellectual activities? MSN messenger is a detriment to education and the day-to-day lives of human beings all over the world.

Students spend too much time on MSN messenger, time they could be spending developing physical and intellectual skills. In 1997, 37% of kids spent over 6 hours on the Internet and in the last 5 years, that number has more than doubled. Concerned parents, such as Lori Lamala, mother of two preteen girls says, "they do not pick up a book to read". Also, Phd Drew Altman announced that "...surfing the Internet has become a full time job for the typical American child".

We do not want our children to grow up lacking the skills needed to succeed in our world. If we want each generation to achieve more than the previous group, we need to make sure they are getting a proper education in the early years, before, during, and after school.

Another problem with MSN messenger is the use of incorrect spelling, grammar, and inappropriate short forms. This clearly affects the writing skills of many students. Dave Riddell, an experienced grade 7 English teacher at Hazel McCallion Senior Public School says, "I have seen short slang forms of language appearing in written formal essays throughout my career". Bradley Baker, a distressed father of three says, "The bigger fallback is penmanship; they are becoming proficient in keyboarding but are lacking in handwriting."

Users of MSN messenger think that it’s a wonderful way to communicate with other people. A poll was conducted and showed that almost all students talked to their friends from school on MSN messenger. However, the program was specifically designed for long-distance communication. Why should students be wasting their time talking to people they see almost every day?

At HMC, a disturbing scene unfolds. In a 7^th grade design and technology class, a teacher announced, "Let the computer do the work for you". This is the message being taught to students: We don’t need to think for ourselves, a machine will do it for us. We don’t want our children to be dependant on little boxes with wires to solve their problems. How can we expect them to be independent members of society if everything they do is relying on a computer?

So, if you want to talk to your friends, pick up the phone, or better yet, walk over to them and have an actual conversation! If you really need to use MSN, use it in moderation. Don’t let it control you. Don’t let it ruin your reading and writing skills. Above all, don’t let your life revolve around it. We need to become smarter, not dumber. Today’s kids are the future of our world, and we do not want to leave our planet in the hands of uneducated, illiterate people.