Communications

Texting is a form of the spoken word, not writing. If you look at it in terms of how it is used, etc. The spoken word is generally ephemeral, for communicating a thought quickly, often to a single recipient. "yes", "No", "Duck!", etc. It is perfectly fine (within reason) to communicate "verbally" via short texts, or even grunts.

I do not consider that a deterioration, except when a few carry things to ridiculous extremes. The written word on the other hand, embodies permanence, intended to evoke thought, consideration, and to be read more than once, usually by more than one reader. A different beast entirely. "War and Peace", or "Jaberwocky", the genus is the same. Obviously, "The Gettysburg Address", although originally presented as a speech, does not fit the category of speech, but rather is more properly considered the written word. The written word is holy, and should be treated as such, with care and thought, proper syntax, following the rules of proper English. Ephemeral speech, not so much.

The problem is that so many today have little concept of the written word, and thus write as they speak, careless, without skill, without syntax, with shorthand and grunts.

Sadly, it is the measured, written language that we are losing. Thanks in large part to the ministrations of an increasing number of lazy, semi-literate teachers. Just as we are losing language (and math too), we are losing competent teachers, and there is a strong correlation between the two.

People used to make these odd little things by making marks on paper, with a pencil, or if especially skilled, pen and ink. They would then seal them up in more paper and hand them off to a public servant known colloquially as a "Mail Man", even if the servant was female. It was called a "Letter" and making them used to be quite an art form.

People would devote great effort to crafting a nice letter to mail to friends and family. Such works often became keepsakes, saved and cherished.  They often comprised elegant communications, not necessarily only to the intended recipient but sometimes even entire families, crossing multiple generations.

The first mail system for delivering these "Letters" was built in this county by Benjamin Franklin, but such systems have existed in Europe for thousands of years. Since the advent of the Internet, and more recently, Zuckerberg, letter writing as an art form has virtually died, and the only thing the mail system is used for is bringing colored paper which is useless unless you have a wood-burning stove. If you do, it is good for starting fires, but it is certainly not something one might wish to save and share.