OMG R U READY 4 THIS POST??
I’m a grammar stickler. I used to literally tell my friends through Instagram their grammatical and spelling errors. *face palm* I hope that they’ve forgiven me????
People probably just sighed and said, “Oh, Hannah…”
At some point I realized that most people probably don’t care *gasp*.
So…does it actually matter whether we use good grammar or not on the Internet? (and no, no we aren’t going to delve into super-scientific research, polls, and all that). Here are my two cents on it.
Online
ARTICLES.
Okay, in an article like this one, you MUST MUST MUSSSSSTTTTTTTT have (relatively) good grammar. If not, people will probably just, well…
In an online article, people are reading it to go to a place where you are speaking well. Okay, in a fangirly-book-related blog, you can just go ADFLSJK;FALSDJFADJLS;AF;ASJDLK;AJSLDFJASALF;. But, in The New Yorker‘s online articles, well, you don’t expect them to say “OMG You Like Totallyyyyyyy Won’t Believe Our New Cartoons They ROCK.” That’s more like BuzzFeed. *frowns*
I think that if you expect people to take you seriously on the Internet, grammar is an absolute must.
Social Media
Using good grammar on social media doesn’t matter quite as much at all. There are captions saying “So Lit” and all that, vague and leaving me clueless as to what they ACTUALLY THINK. So really, no one seems to care at all. Personally, I think using proper grammar gives you a layer of class, though you’ll probably be the only one to notice it. Well…you and I because I pay too much attention to it anyway, and is it too much to ask for everyone to have perfect grammar all the time? Yes, precisely because the grammar stickler herself (me!) doesn’t even have amazing grammar (what a hypocrite!)
Conclusion: I suppose you should use good grammar if you want everyone to be impressed?
Real Life
Gosh, oh absolutely you should use good grammar (if you want to!). Of course, it’s a personal preference, but I think that it gives you a lovely first impression when talking to someone, and they’ll take you MUCH more seriously.
Using good grammar is beneficial to better understanding what you yourself mean, and how the others perceive and understand what you are saying. Good grammar doesn’t necessary define whether you’re a good or bad person, intelligent or not, and it’s usually just because of the way we’ve grown up and learned to speak in our own personal styles. In conclusion, grammar may make sticklers like myself admire you a bit more than someone who doesn’t think about the way s/he speaks, but it in NO WAY defines you.
What are your thoughts on good grammar? Optional, recommended, necessary? Tell me below! Remember, here’s my Instagram, Facebook, and Goodreads. See you soon, and happy reading!
The Book Llama 
I’m definitely a stickler for good grammar too! I see people using really bad grammar or making really bad typos all the time at work, and it really annoys me 😛
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Right?! Honestly I think it’s all the books that help me have better grammar. It’s kind of like perfect pitch (which I so do not have😂)- how you notice when something sounds a little off.
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Yes definitely! My friend said my writing/grammar is so good because I read so much, and I think he’s probably right!
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Great post! I always cringe a little when I read clear grammatical errors on something that’s supposed to be professional, and I even do it sometimes when reading social media posts, but there’s definitely a difference, like you say! I always try to make my blog and social media grammatically correct because I like good grammar, and I want people to see my blog as ‘intelligently written’ I suppose haha 😉
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I always want people to see my blog that way too! It gives me this sort of pride (“Wow people think well of me! 😱”).
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Same with me 😊
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YESSSSSS especially your example of what the New York Times should not do. I definitely tend on the Grammar Queen side- I’ve always been a writing/reading person and words are important to me. So even when I fangirl the first letter of the sentence is capitalized. 😂
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Exactly! Even when I post comments like these I read them at least three times before I publish them!
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As an English major I live for grammar! I am constantly secretly judging people’s grammar when they speak. Everything I write, from essay to text message has to have correct grammar. Still I must admit I tend to bend the rules of grammar when I speak. Does that make me a hypocrite? 🤔
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Haha I think we all bend grammar rules when speaking *raises hand to outer space*, because it’s just a natural thing. But some people just completely butcher a sentence, and that’s when I start silently saying “Hmmmmm…” in my mind.
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Well said! Couldn’t agree more (and I love the very appropriate gifs used!)
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I think it depends on how bad the grammar is for me to get annoyed? There have definitely been times where I just closed a blog post, but I didn’t even understand them anymore so I don’t feel too bad about it 😅
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Everything’s situational, so methinks it depends more on the context in which it is used. My biggest issue is when it comes to books. For a while, I stumbled all over books with horrendous grammar and punctuation, and it was a turnoff. There are less than three authors I’d read regardless of their writing, if only because I’m officially invested in their characters, but writing skills are—and always will be—important.
I think a lot of the bad writing these days is in part to the education system. There isn’t much priority on the subject matter as there is on social studies, mathematics and the sciences, and if teachers are too hard on students, parents complain and/or their passing rate decreases…and because of state testing, they don’t have much ability in fixing that/spending the time needed on lessons to help the students learn. Quote sad.
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Quite* (autocorrect)
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