PARENTS need not worry - a new study contends that SMSes and online chats actually help teens hone their linguistic abilities, rather than degrade them.

Parental worry has stemmed from the lack of grammar and the extensive use of often unintelligible abbreviations like LOL, OMG and TTYL in SMSes - also known as instant messaging (IM).

But the study has concluded that IM represents 'an expansive new linguistic renaissance' being evolved by GenNext kids.

In the photograph: Actress Reese Witherspoon with her bling Motorola

Photograph: Getty Images