LOLWUT? Is text messaging ruining the English language?

It's difficult to send a text message, update you status or even speak to friends in a social setting without using abbreviations to express OMG or LOL moments — err, wait, WTF?

Late this past March, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) added the initialisms FYI (for your information), OMG (oh my god), LOL (laugh out loud), TMI (too much information) and BFF (best friend forever) to its new online edition, according to LATimes.com.

While many "messagers" might be thrilled with the included shorthand, I fear mostly for both the older and future generations.

While our generation might be privy to the meanings attached to TMI or ROFL, what about our parents and grandparents? Will we soon lose all communication with these people? LOL. OK, probably not.

When considering the future generations — you know, those who are basically learning to read on iPhones — will these young people ever be able to spell when the dictionary merely tells them to abbreviate? I've yet to meet anyone in the professional or academic realm who communicates in text messaging acronyms.

The English language has certainly evolved over time, and the new "texting" lingo appears to be just the next step in creating faster and simpler ways of communicating.

Keeping up with society's need to further simplify the language, like the OED, the Associated Press continually makes updates to their AP Style Guide. Recently, the AP announced that electronic mail will no longer be written "e-mail" and will instead be written "email." Only this past year did the AP finally resort to changing "website" from their previous style of two words — "Web site."

Not only did the OED include the common initialisms, but they have also added their first graphic symbol — the heart graphic. Give me a break.

Apparently, all of our online slang terms have the chance to become legitimate additions to the English language. While this might be a slippery slope, it does give hope to all the Gretchen Weiners out there still trying to make "fetch" happen.