Shaking my head...

If it's possible-- in a post where I am hoping to lament the demise of the written word, I am almost at a loss of it entirely... yet, I digress.

We live in a world of instant gratification. Everything from news to entertainment has to be here, now and fast to be worthy; if it takes any amount of time over a couple of minutes, it is usually, pretty obsolete. As a result, communication standards have bowed to this trend. When we, as a society, decide to participate or respond to anything that comes our way, we feel inclined to do it in the quickest way possible. As a result, 'lol', 'g2g', 'nvm' and the likeness have replaced the long form sentiments they represent. I get it. That's the world we live in.

Moreover, should you be an avid participator in the Twittersphere, you are even more constricted to expression limitations. Every space, punctuation mark, or letter takes up precious space in a 140-character text box. So, as a result, abbreviations of common words and phrases are commonly relied upon to fulfill complete thoughts. Still, I get it.

Because, ultimately, these shortened words and phrases seek to succinctly express thoughts and feelings that may be too lengthy in a long-form relation. However, mediums such as Facebook (with no character limitation) or text messaging (which are limitless, even if they are limited per each individual message), abbreviated thoughts or feeling are not necessary.

So, in a lengthy and roundabout way, I am getting at the fact that I do NOT understand why certain individuals feel inclined to preface messages without constricted character limits with "smh".

First of all, if you craft a message correctly, incredulity is obvious. Secondly, "smh" is easily expressed by stating, "what I don't get" or "I am baffled by" or even, "what the fuck is that about", without description of physical movement being necessary whatsoever...especially by abbreviation. Secondly, if we are conversing in a medium without restriction, why do you feel inclined to abbreviate certain notions when the majority of you other sentiments are spelled out in their entirety?

I am forthright in the belief that, even if technologies exist that make it faster or easier, I am going to use the written word in the way in which it was intended. Especially in instances where there is no explicable reason to cut your thoughts short. Because ultimately, when you choose subjectivity, you choose to leave yourself up to interpretation. And for me, that is a dangerous concept. If I have learned anything as a writer, its that when you seek to derive certain thoughts, emotions or feeling, you spell it out specifically; otherwise, the effort is wasted.

So do me a favor-- take a moment to write out, to the letter, how you feel. Don't leave your thoughts and feelings up to individual comprehension; say it loud and say it proud. If you think your girlfriend is idiotic for expecting her abusive boyfriend to eradicate his behavior because she got pregnant unexpectedly, say to her, "i am literally dumbfounded by your logic," rather than dumbing it down to, "smh." Because, at the end of the day, we are all better served by the whole truth, and not its abbreviations.