TY - JOUR AU - Fisayo W. Oreoluwa, AU - Funmilola O. Omotayo, PY - 2022/07/11 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Use of Textism by University Students in Nigeria JF - Covenant Journal of Informatics and Communication Technology JA - CJICT VL - 10 IS - 2 SE - Articles DO - UR - https://journals.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/index.php/cjict/article/view/2993 SP - AB - <p>The introduction of computer-mediated communications brought the use of textism into human communication. Even though there are overwhelming advantages that surround the use of textism, concerns have been raised on the effect of the use of textism on students' use of the English language. This study investigated the use of textism by University of Ibadan students as well as the factors that influence use. The descriptive survey research design was adopted. Data were collected by an online questionnaire and an observation of Whatsapp chats of the students. The study confirmed the use of textism in computer-mediated communication by students as textism was used consciously and unconsciously, and was used both in formal and informal discussions. A below-average number of the students reported that they used textism daily and in every chat (47.4% and 44.0% respectively). Analysis of the Whatsapp chats also revealed a high use of textism and the various types of textism used by the students. Brevity, speed, and creativity were major reasons for the use of textism. Phonological approximation (30.5%) was the most used, while homophones and onomatopoeia (0.01% respectively) were the least used. The test of hypotheses revealed that all the independent variables except the structure domain have significant relationships (p&lt;0.05) with the use of textism. Sociolinguistic maxims, peer influence, and language influence have strong and positive correlations (r = 0.595, 0.657, and 0.581 respectively), while personality traits and psychological factors have moderate and positive correlations (r = 0.480 and 0.489 respectively). The study made some recommendations.</p> ER -