Lots of folks typing on smartphones make typos. Lots of typos! Is there a better way?
A research study found differences among smartphone users’ typing strategies that can make smartphone messages both faster to type and more accurate. Why not give these techniques a try?
Two-thumb typing is typically faster than single-finger or one-thumb typing. And people are getting better at typing on smartphones. Using a full keyboard to type is still the fastest input method, but most of us now spend more time with the smaller phone keypads.
The fastest typists were those using autocorrect. Autocorrect fixes obvious spelling errors and typos. Be aware that some research shows that autocorrect can be frustrating when having to change erroneous corrections. This is especially true if you are typing lots of technical terms or proper names, for which typos are more difficult for autocorrect to fix accurately.
Maybe generative AI can relieve some of this frustration by offering word prediction, grammar checks, or even suggested rephrasing to make your message more casual or more professional. However, research has shown that reliance on word prediction can reduce overall typing speed and increase cognitive load, at least for blind users.
Speech recognition (voice-to-text) technology can also be used to create text messages in smartphones. This technology allows an inputrate almost three times faster than typing!
Proofreading before hitting “Send” is still very important. These helpful tools can increase speed and catch basic typos and errors, but they lack the human judgment and contextual understanding to prevent communication misinterpretations. Autocorrect replacements can be embarrassinglyincorrect. Speech recognition inserts homophones (words that sound alike but are spelled differently and have different meanings) and can misunderstand certain pronunciations.
Proofreading a text is especially important in professional conversations or when your message is emotionally delicate or sensitive. You won’t want to trust any confidential information to AI, which may store it or use it for data training.
Tools that make text input on a smartphone easier can be useful but be aware of potential issues. Always verify your message for accuracy.
