Younger generations are far more open to advertising in general, probably because of the way it is always in their face, and has been since birth. Sure, advertising has been around for a long time, but older generations would have had far less and in far fewer places, making them far more resistant to its introduction these days.

The fact that youth are more open to advertising is aided by the way there is more commonly something in it for the viewer. Schemes like Virgin Mobile’s ‘Sugar Mama’ allow users to earn free minutes on their phone accounts for viewing mobile advertisements, which makes it feel like the viewer is getting rewarded, making them want to view more ads. The company showing the ads will then get more advertisers interested, making it a win-win situation, provided the company being advertised finds leads as a result.

I do not believe this trend will stop, and I think that advertising will become a more pervasive part of our lives. This may upset some people, but for the next generation, it will just be a fact of life.

While the NZQA is stating that it is strongly discouraging students to use the shorthand, and that in exams where requirements specifically state that candidates should demonstrate good language use, such as English, abbreviations would be penalized, I think it is terrible that ‘TXT TLK’ will be accepted at all.

We should be trying to teach students an appreciation of language, and the ability to write, spell, and speak with a high standard, not encouraging laziness and a complete butchery of the written word. I hope that the public makes a stand on this, and the NZQA realizes the stupidity of its ways.