Effects of SMS on writing skills of the university students in Pakistan : a case study of University of Gujrat

The current study is intended to discover the effect of the SMS using habits on writing skills of the university students of Pakistan and to show how this novel medium of communication is affecting the writing skills of the university students. Survey research is used to collect data in quantitative form using multiphase method of sampling. Time period of the study was from October 2010 to December 2010. It is found that the higher the exposure to the SMS, more the negative effect on the writing skills of the university students. The excessive use of this medium is leading students towards writing wrong spellings and using SMS language’s short abbreviations that are not standard in examinations and daily academic work that is very harmful in academia.