What’s something that you can easily include in your five-page essay, but you can’t do in a simple text message? *This.* Italics. Which is odd because using italics is one of the most popular ways to emphasize a word or phrase.
You may be thinking, “What’s so important about italics?” Well, italics are crucial to emphasize a word or phrase. They enable the reader to comprehend nuanced meanings. Italics are something that I use every day on my laptop with a simple press of the “Control” and “I” buttons, but the same effect can’t be replicated on my iPhone’s keyboard. If I’ve ever had a conversation with you, you most likely know that I *love* to emphasize my thoughts. So, why not be able to do that when I’m texting you, too? If I want to get my point across exactly how I would if I were talking, it would be helpful to have some way to enhance the text on my smaller devices.
In the world we live in today, text messages are a prominent and often primary form of communication that affects all generations. In fact, 95 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 29 depend on texting as a regular means of connecting with others. Therefore, it’s especially important for small device technology to adapt and support the ability to have a conversation that is heard and interpreted with its intended clarity. Italics offer a less ambiguous way to ensure the necessary accuracy to support common understanding.
Instead of italics, I have considered “Caps Lock.” However, it only works to emphasize *parts* of words. It also sort of seems like I’m yelling or trying to get someone’s attention in a really loud way. While the use of capital letters could be a possibility, what about when it comes to using the word “I,” or an acronym in all caps? Capitalizing certain words to display emphasis doesn’t quite work when the word is already required to be uppercase. For example, if you want to say, “*I* never did that,” and imply that although *you’re* not the one who did something, others could have, you’re forced to simply state, “I never did that.” Alternatively, you might want to say, “I never did *that,*” and allude to the fact that there are other things you *could’ve* done. However, without the possibility of italics, you’re forced to reveal that you “never did that,” taking away much of the phrase’s necessary clarity. There are many similar scenarios where the use of italics can clearly convey meaning by bringing attention to different parts of a sentence or passage. Without the ability to choose which words the reader is drawn to, the significance can be easily misunderstood or not recognized at all.
In addition to emphasizing keywords or phrases, another vital value of italics is referencing another person’s book or work within your writing. For example, I may want to mention a title in a text, story, or some other form of communication while using my phone’s keyboard. To do this without italics or “Caps Lock,” my only remaining option might be quotations. When I see quotation marks written around a set of words, I automatically assume that what’s inside is a phrase directly pulled from somewhere else. In other words: a quote. Going back to my example from before, if I were to use this method to emphasize my words, it would look something like this: “I” never did that. I don’t know about you, but if I received that as a text I wouldn’t be clear about the intent. Why quote the “I” if it’s an everyday word?
As a writer, I use italics *all* the time. This feature enables me to emphasize my words in a similar way to how I would if I were speaking. It’s common to hear people advise you to call someone or wait to talk with them in person instead of texting them, particularly for a sensitive or consequential topic. And yes, I stand by this because listening to someone’s voice ensures that you hear all of their emotions and emphasis. However, some may not agree with this perspective, and there may be situations where texting is the *only* option. Therefore, it’s important to have formatting options available in messages to allow people who would prefer texting, to clearly make a point as you would in a live setting. When it comes to getting your idea across in special situations, it’s much clearer to share your information in a way that ensures the receiving person can hear the parts you’re emphasizing. But it’s just as important to be able to correctly convey and *accurately* receive information, feelings, and tone to truly hear another person and engage in a typically short, but genuine written conversation. Incorrectly interpreted emphasis (or lack thereof) can lead to misunderstandings and even unnecessary arguments. This can be addressed by the use of italics in short-form texts.
Writing this commentary has encouraged me to pause and reflect on what could be perceived as a trivial topic. Italics are essential because they provide the possibility for improved clarity, empowering an exchange of thoughts that are more precisely interpreted and carefully understood in the fleeting conversations between smaller devices. Phones seem to have *everything* these days, so why can’t they include italics too?
