On the other hand, the review discloses that GSM introduction into Nigeria in 2001 has
significantly re-energized a then dying-off communications sector. With such a development,
mobile phone communication system has become the most preferred alternative in the country
as the statistics shows that there were virtually 60 million active subscribers by the year 2008
(Taiwo, 2010). SMS or texting is a very essential feature of GSM as a new medium of mass
communication. With mobile phones at hand, the culture of texting was becoming a habit
among Nigerians, predominantly, the younger ones. It is believed that it enables users to save
time, money and effort in sending or receiving information and messages from friends,
relatives, colleagues and business associates. It is being celebrated as a substitute medium
where individuals feel free to communicate and express their views with fewer restrictions
socially, politically and so on. At the same time, some scholars have the reservation that this
growing trend of texting is becoming a hindrance to students‘ good mastery of the
conventional written and spoken English. Some research works conducted on the effects of
SMS on students in Nigeria have already established instances of some occurrences of SMS
language markers in the students‘ formal orthographies and expression manners.