Shell-shocked by abbreviations and TXTSPK? Should we get with the program or try to save formal communication?

Text speak seems to have flooded all sources of our connectivity. In today's hyper connected world, especially here in the United States, that means more and more people are using abbreviations and texting shorthand who seem unlikely candidates for such practices. As a writer, I swore off text speak when it first started emerging. I managed to resist it for a long time. Alas, my downfall was my gaming habit. Well known and understood shorthand cuts down the time I need to type during a crucial part of killing that epic dragon over there.

Here is me all dressed up for a night of dragon slaying. Excuse the low res!

Ok so once I started slipping into abbreviations, I found I was totally lost with the abbreviations other people were using. Considering they all spring from someone deciding to type a phrase they use frequently in a lazy manner, it is probably pretty impossible to stay abreast of every abbreviation and slang and lingo you will encounter!

Some TXTSPK abbreviations I use often in game include:

LOL - laughing out loud/ laughed out loud, ironic because at most I usually only chuckled quietly. I tried to get CQ to catch fire, but that didn't go so well!

IRL- In real life, usually referring to the mundane world I live in, as opposed to my character.

1337 or leet - meaning "elite". Odd again, because I am usually being sarcastic and the person or thing being CALLED elite is usually far from it! Oh the wonders of online anonymity!

LFG/LFR - looking for group/raid. Usually useless to throw out there!

Then of course every zone has an abbreviation and sometimes the developers even name DIFFERENT zones names that have the SAME abbreviation!!! Is SS skyshrine or sinking sands??? NEED MORE CONTEXT!!!

Game was kind of easy to slip in to the abbreviations. You have a cap on how many characters can go in one channel message and really EVERYONE uses them. But then I caught myself using them IRL... erm I mean in real life.

People in my networks would ask me to like a new page for a venture or contest. I was already a fan but instead of saying: "Hey Jane! I am already a fan of your page and I love it! Good luck with expanding your awesome business!", I was now commenting simply: "AAF! Good luck!".

I catch myself doing this more and more and I still pause when I see myself do it. Has our communication gotten so fast and hurried that we do not have the time to type out a simple sentence? We have gone from handwritten letters to emails and now to 160 character texts or 140 character tweets. You know all those super sweet stories you read about letters being found written between separated sweethearts or famous people? Ever hear a story about a letter found in a pocket in a thrift store that was written 50 years ago to a soldier from home? How about the diaries they find written by famous people, do you like those stories?

It seems our generation will leave fewer and fewer of those stories for future generations. We don't keep diaries, we blog. (more irony since you are reading mine!). We don't pen letters, we email and Facebook message.

While this is worth a sad moment of silence, there is a bigger tragedy. We seem to be losing the ability to communicate with each other on a personal, thoughtful level. We don't take a full 20 minutes to devote to updating someone on what is happening. We don't have to wait for a reply and give it our undivided attention to read every page before replying.

An acceptable answer to a well thought email is now "k". Could you imagine if we still had to use a stamp to reply to people? Would you waste a stamp to say "k"?

Tell me what YOU think of the TXTSPK trend in comments. How can we focus more on meaningful interactions? Should we bother or should we just get with the program?