The Effects of Short Messaging Services on the Composition Skills of Senior Secondary School Students – A Case Study of the Government Science and Technical College, Garagboghol, Nigeria
Dekera Gerald Atim 
& Paul Nepapleh Nkamta
Issue: Vol.6 No.6 Article 4 pp. 699 – 714
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2025664 | Published online 7th May, 2025
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
This research examined the effects of using short messaging services (SMS) on composition skills, among students at the senior secondary level of the Government Science and Technical College, Garagboghol, Nigeria. For the theoretical framework, two theories were highlighted: Transformational Generative Grammar and Diffusion of Innovation as aver by Everett Rogers. The study employed a quantitative research approach, using purposive sampling to select SSS1 and SSS2 students and English language experts from the institution under study, with data collected through questionnaires and analyzed using percentage summaries of responses. The major findings of the study included spelling errors, use of slang, punctuation errors, wrong use of tenses, and wrong separation of words by students. The study revealed that SMS usage has adverse effects on student composition skills. There is a need for strict adherence to correct grammatical conventions when texting so that even when writing formal essays, students will not deviate from standard forms of English. Teachers must also teach students the use SMS language in formal school writing affects their mechanical accuracy, expression, organisation, and content and discourages them from using SMS language. This study contributes to scholarship by providing empirical evidence on the adverse effects of SMS language on students’ composition skills, highlighting the need for adherence to grammatical conventions in texting and the role of teachers in mitigating the negative impact of SMS usage on formal writing proficiency.
Keywords: Short Messaging Services (SMS), Composition Skills, The effects of short messaging services, Senior Secondary School Students in Nigeria.
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Dekera Gerald Atim is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with many years of experience in research, lecturing and administration; he is presently with the Understanding and Processing Language in Complex Settings (UPSET) Research Entity, School of Languages, Faculty of Humanities, North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, South Africa. His research interests include but not limited to Applied Linguistics, multilingualism and multiculturalism, second language acquisition, reading literacies, language practice/teaching and learning, Sociolinguistics and language communications. He has widely published in reputable journals.
Paul Nepapleh Nkamta is an Associate Professor in the Department of English, School of Languages, Faculty of Humanities, North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, Republic of South Africa. His research interests include linguistic inequality in advertising, multilingualism and multiculturalism. He is also interested in reading literacy among first and second language English speakers. He has published widely in peer reviewed journals, such as Cogent Arts and Humanities, South African Journal of African Languages, African Renaissance, Journal of Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa, Transylvanian Review, African Identities, Journal of Multicultural Discourses, Journal of Language, Discourse and Society, among others.
Atim, Dekera Gerald, and Paul Nepapleh Nkamta. “The Effects of Short Messaging Services on the Composition Skills of Senior Secondary School Students – A Case Study of the Government Science and Technical College, Garagboghol, Nigeria,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 6, no.6 (2025): 699 – 714. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2025664
© 2025 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
