I saw a Japanese name earlier today. Naoko. It's not a particularly unique name, but it got me thinking. Phonetically, Nao is similar to now. It's not identical, especially in the Japanese pronunciation, but one could substitute it in English text, and the context and phonetics of it would convey the meaning.
For instance: Do it nao.
It would be quite easy for any native English speaker to read that and understand it without too much trouble. It would take a fraction of a second longer to process it, but that's irrelevant, because the meaning is perfectly conveyed in almost the same time. In fact, spelling it phonetically does have some benefits. The main benefit is that of emphasis. The word 'now' in the above phrase is emphasised by its unusual spelling and appearance. The fraction of a second of extra processing in the brain calls it to attention. Since it is completely phonetic (and if it is unfamiliar to the reader) the brain processes it more as a sound, hence we get the effect of emphasis by the stimulation of the aural part of the brain, even if the stimulation is only slight.
Clearly, it is obvious why people, youths in particular, are so keen on altering the spelling of words, with concentration on shortening words. Single letter words that are now commonplace ('c', 'u', 'y?') are not only easier to write/type, but call attention to themselves through self emphasis. At least, that's what they used to do.
There are other ways of calling attention to a particular word or phrase. The exclamation mark is a particularly useful one. With merely a shift and a one, it is possible to add exclamation to a phrase or word. The symbol itself is so associated with alarm and emphasis that it is adopted as a symbol for surprise in many contexts. The Metal Gear Solid series is my favourite example.
The usefulness of the exclamation mark, however, lies in its rarity.
I once read some amateur storytelling, and in a four line paragraph, there were close to one hundred exclamation marks. Needless to say, I did not continue reading. Anyone familiar with an internet will understand where I am coming from. Piling them onto the end of a sentence adds exclamation, but if you ever want to add more exclamation, you need to use more than previously. To emphasise, they need to be rare. There isn't a problem with adding a couple to a particularly important piece of information, but the amateur author in question was so insistent that all of the information was more important than the last, reading became a chore and it didn't matter what he had to say next.
It is for this reason that it is important to use emphatic methods only when necessary. It is important to punctuate, not saturate. Hugely abbreviated words no longer carry the emphasis they once had, which is a shame. If one was well placed and innovative, it carried a lot more meaning. Their commonplace has made them relatively worthless.
The same can be said for so many methods of communication the internet has proliferated. Emoticons were once minor chat additions. The need to be bigger and better and more emphatic now has most websites screaming "OH MY GOD NO WAY" if you mistakenly drag your pointer across an advertisement.
Not only has the emoticon been devalued that way, but its been reduced to a selling point for spyware.
I remember chatting to a friend of mine of AIM many years ago. We were talking normally, but out of the blue he said, all in capital letters, "I HATE MY JOB". A had a relative sitting near me, who said, "I would have made the text red and put it in a bigger size and made it italics and underlined it.". It was at that moment that I realised that capitalisation isn't enough for emphasis for many people. For myself and job-hating Glenn Magas, it was plenty. I understand he was frustrated and needed a change and that this was more noteworthy than "I hate my job.". For my relative, who most likely greeted her online friends with capital letters, nine exclamation marks and six tongue smileys, a perfectly acceptable form of emphasis became mundane and needed to be bettered by more vulgar and visually affronting text.
Anyone who has read more than a few of my entries will know of my conservative attitude towards the English language. They will know that when I use an exclamation mark it is a relatively major event, and really needs attention paid to it. The internet and mobile phones were a major threat to traditional communication, but thankfully, it is being saved by those inclined to communicate without the constant need to throw words at people (probably an offshoot of the advertising and commercial environments, as well as the 'louder is better' environments many people are exposed to from an early age). Those helping to preserve it are growing in numbers, and while it is unlikely people will ever run out of new ways to emphasise their language (unlike record labels maximising the volume of CD music), it will still appear tacky and unnecessary to the majority of English speakers.