Spell Checker Dependency

Spell Checkers - Help Or Harm?

Most of us are dependent on our spell checkers, or as I call it SCD (spell checker dependency). We rely on our spell checkers to fix our spelling mistakes and to make sure we are using a real word.

However, spell checkers cause us to overlook some of our habitual spelling and typing mistakes. We become accustomed to deferring to the spell checker’s wisdom. We become use to its help so that often we overlook silly or stupid misuse of correctly spelled words.

With our minds busy on other things, we may type "cents" instead of "sense" or "since" or even "right" for "write". We decide to make a noun an adverb but our spell checker doesn’t like an "ly" added to the noun. So instead of telling the checker to ignore the word, we diligently search for another way to say the same thing so the checker will approve.

We too easily and too quickly assume that the spell checker knows all the words. We trust the checker more than ourselves; sometimes with good reason. We depend on the spell checker to catch our typos and to fix our spelling.

SCD gradually instills a distrust in our own judgment, our own objectivity. We too quickly defer to the spell checker’s supposedly perfection.

Yes, I too rely on my spell checker; although, it is years out of date. New words have come into use, old words have fallen from favor, but for the most part the checker still serves me well.

No, my spell checker doesn’t prevent me from typing "not" when I mean "no" or "not he" when I mean "no the" and other happy finger mistakes. I guess that’s why a grammar checker is also included with most word processors.

While my spell checker doesn’t catch all of my mistakes, it does help a very poor speller get along in a world of perfectionists However because I am stubborn, I often use a dictionary to confirm if a word is correct before bowing to my spell checker’s wisdom.