Who else is concerned about your teenager's addiction to text messaging?

[RiverStone]

It is amazing to me the degree to which teenagers have adapted text messaging to their world. I may understand the world of the internet, but am lost when it comes to text messaging.

I work in the public schools and know that kids routinely sneak cell phones into class, and can text with such speed and proficiency that entire conversations can occur with one hand taking notes, and the other hand under the desk. Kids are pounding out what might as well be hieroglyphic symbols to my eyes --- so many abbreviations for words or complete sentences.

I have two wonderful (albeit challenging) teenagers. My 19 year old daughter just barely got into it and is now off at college, but my 15 year old son seems to be almost constantly relaying a text message. Interestingly, it had been a challenge getting him to communicate his whereabouts on the weekend while chilling with friends via a regular phone call, but he responds almost instantly to a text. That's one upside, even if it take me 10 times longer to pound it out. He's a good kid and follows house rules, home by curfew and he even works to contribute to the cost of his phone by doing pet care for folks in the neighborhood. But I am concerned that text messaging has become so entrenched in the teen world (his world), that I really believe it counts as a second language --- and I don't speak it!

People used to lament emails taking the place of ol fashioned paper letters; now I wonder if text messaging is doing the same thing to the spoken word....:think:

Anybody else concerned about your teenager and his/her addiction to text messaging?

[SteppingRazor]

1. omg, wtf? txts r fn n/t

[graywarrior]

2. I watch it going on at 12 step meetings and it makes me want to scream

[TrogL]

99. I just scream "WHAT PART OF TURN OFF YOUR ELECTRONICS DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?"

[endarkenment]

3. nt nemore ct fngrs off

[blueclown]

4. I am not concerned about kids text messaging.

I would say there are a lot more important things to worry about, such as the looming depression, declining wages, an increased cost of living, higher poverty rates, etc.

Just be thankful those kids are text messaging rather than getting in trouble.

[truedelphi]

5. Your report is quite interesting. Please

Can you upload some of the lingo. (Even four or five would be a start.) I barely understand even the most common expresions the young text crowd is using.

BTW, Reader's Digest had a neat article on successful business strategies.

And they interviewed one great salesman. When asked how it is that he is so successful even though he is in his seventies, he replied how he owes it all to texting.

"I didn't think someone your age knows texting" the reporter commented.

"I don't," said the biz whiz. "But while all my colleagues are busy texting people at meetings, I am making the presentations and networking connections that get me all my deals."

[RiverStone]

11. OK...you asked for it!

:hi:

HUGE list here (I Googled it):

http://www.netlingo.com/emailsh.cfm

[truedelphi]

61. Thank you. I will probably lie awake tonight trying

to understand why 1174 equals a nudist club, but there has got to be a reason, right??

[rucky]

6. If your teen responds to your text messages...

then maybe it's really solving another problem.

It's they'd bond with you if they weren't texting - they'd just have some other diversion.

[Cleita]

7. When I was a teenager, they worried over the time we spent on the

phone and passing notes under the desk and using our own language to do so. Adults didn't know the code. I think your teens have adapted to the next stage of technology. When they are your age they probably will be worrying about some space age way their kids are communicating that makes them feel left out.

[RiverStone]

16. Good point!

I'd say your read on the future is right on.

Maybe it will look something like this....

[Norrin Radd]

91. Telepathy.

[sweetpotato]

8. As long as they aren't trying to drive at the same time

texting and driving sounds like a recipe for disaster.

[Sukie]

9. You can be concerned with the state that the world is in

and still be concerned with other things, like how much people text. I do agree that it has become a social problem of sorts when people would rather text than speak to someone personally. There are a lot of times I understand texting, I do it myself. But there are times when it is so much easier to call me about something, yet my 21 year old daughter prefers to text me. It takes twice as long to finish the conversation than it would have if she had just called me. And we have a very close mother and daughter relationship. What really scares me is when I see people trying to text while driving. They would probably swear that it didn't affect their driving at all, but they don't see their car swerving, or slowing down, the way the rest of the drivers see it.

[Odin2005]

31. You make making a big deal out of nothing.

It's typical BS "OMG, kids these days" thinking.

[enlightenment]

10. My son missed the text craze, thankfully -

but I am concerned about the growing laxity in grammar and spelling that I see in my students' work (college). It is more than a failure to comprehend the difference between formal writing and 'text speak', it's an actual refusal to make the effort. Sporadic at the moment, but I fear the attitude will spread. You certainly see it here on DU - you're inviting derision if you suggest that spelling matters.
:(

[Cleita]

15. I dunno. Written English is pretty baroque. Maybe we need this evolution

to simplify how it's written. Being brought up bilingual, I noticed how easy Spanish was to spell. It had consistent rules. English on the other hand doesn't for too many of its words. Either you know it from usage or you can't spell. I know, it will make it harder for students to read the classics, but then it could be like reading Shakespeare today for the very first time. They will adapt.

[Odin2005]

29. The problem is that there is great dialect variation in the vowels.

That makes creating a dialect-neutral spelling system extremely difficult. For example, the Brits have 3 vowels pronounced with the tongue in a low-back position (the British rounded A, the vowel in "bot", and the vowel in "bought"). Almost no Americans have the rounded A, and in half of Americans the vowels in "bot" and "bought" have merged. In the Great Lakes region there is a vowel shift going on so that "bat" sounds like "bey-uht" "bot" sounds like "bat', "bought" sounds like "bot", "but" sounds like "bought", and "bet" sounds like "but" (this is the accent of Detroit). Californians front the vowel in "boot" and back the vowel in "bat" (hence "come and gahg me with ah spee-oon").

[Cleita]

35. Your explanation is pretty cool. Are you a linguist of some sort? n/t

[Odin2005]

40. no, I just have an amateur interest in American English dialects and English lingustics in general.

My interest started when I first read about the vowel shift in the Great Lakes region I mentioned, called the Northern Cities Vowel Shift (NCVS), as well as the Cot-Caught vowel merger, which has spread like wildfire through the West and Upper-Midwest. This vowel shift only started in the 1950s and has spread rapidly, falsifying the notion that mass media would lead to the death of dialects, the dialects are actually becoming more distinct as time goes on. The NCVS has moved here into the Fargo area in the last couple decades and one can tell that the accent of us young adults is different then that of our parents. When one looks hard enough one can find some really interesting things. for example, the R in many younger folks in Milwaukee has become the "gutteral" R (the linguistic term for the consonant is the uvular approximant) one finds in French and German.

[Cleita]

44. I've always had a pretty good ear for detecting regionalisms in general,

but not quite that refined. LOL! I do find the Valley Girl speak to be something that I hear in TV personalities a lot and since I find it really irritating, I wonder why that of all accents is the one that became mainstream around the eighties so that even some educated newscasters can't quite conceal it.

[enlightenment]

39. Umm.

I don't agree. Spanish may be easier to spell (I suppose - it depends on your point of view) but you still need to know the difference between 'dos' and 'para' or 'ver' and 'mar' - right? You wouldn't use 'dos' if you meant 'para' . . . why is it considered too much work to recognise the difference between 'to' 'too' and 'two'? As for standard rules - yes, I suppose they are fairly standard in comparison to English, but at least English has lost the gender complication . . . and neither language is particularly 'regular' in terms of verb conjugation. Personally, I find some of the irregulars in Spanish an absolute nightmare - 'ser' and 'estar', for example. They both mean 'to be' - but are two completely different words. I could argue for the baroque redundancy of those forms, certainly! :)

English has evolved and continues to evolve. I'm not opposed to evolution in language. I am opposed to laziness and that's what 'text speak' is - laziness. On a mobile phone, communicating in that mode, I suppose it speeds up the process (though if the texter is in such a hurry, why not use the speaking feature of their telephone?), but there is absolutely no reason to transfer that to formal writing.

As for reading the classics; I think that a continued dumbing down of written English will make reading older forms increasingly more difficult - in the same way that it is largely impossible for most modern students to read Chaucer. 'The Canterbury Tales' was written in English, but it is an English that we have evolved so far from that most people see it as a completely foreign language. Shakespeare wrote in 'modern' English - the usages, forms, and certainly the spellings are different, but it is recognisable as English and most students can read it if they make the effort. How awful, if we got to a point where students reading in English could not read Shakespeare at all.

[Cleita]

41. It's just my opinion.

I guess the Spanish grammar is easier for me because I grew up speaking and listening to it just like English. But English spelling is tricky. Admit it even for native speakers. And my god, you would never see the awful English that the Freepers write from native speakers of Spanish if there was such a website for Spanish speakers. There are message boards that have conservative Spanish posters but at least they are literate.

[Odin2005]

50. English is pretty much spelled how it was spoken 600 years ago.

Then around 1500 years ago the Great Vowel Shift screwed with the long vowels. The final E became silent at the same time.

[Odin2005]

49. Don't get me started on "Ir", that's an irregular Spanish verb I hate.

I'm in the process of learning Spanish and the irregular verbs and the stem-changing verbs (like Tener-Tengo) drive me nuts.

BTW, I am disturbed by the attitude you show in the last paragraph. languages don't "degenerate" that is total nonsense, languages change, language evolve. Modern English is not "dumbed down" compared to the English of Shakespeare's time. English, like all languages, is a dynamic and evolving entity. In Shakespeare's time, for example, "gotta" had not yet become a function word that forms the future tense ("I've gotta be shopping'), now it's an elementary feature of the English tense system, used more often then "will/shall" to marl the verb for the future tense. In Shakespeare's time "Thou" was still the 2nd person singular pronoun, now it's gone, and new forms like "y'all" are creating a new a singular/plural distinction in 2nd person pronouns. As time goes on all of those helper verbs Modern English has will start to lose their independent identity and become prefixes on the verb, turning the descendants of English into languages with an agglutinative, synthetic structure, like Finnish and Ojibwe.

[enlightenment]

84. oh, my! Don't be disturbed about it!

Do keep in mind that I was discussing the formal written form as opposed to the spoken form or even the informal written form. That's why I refer to what people do on mobile phones as 'text speak' - it is the same sort of informal speech as your example of 'gotta' and 'y'all'. What someone chooses to use in a board posting or a private email message or letter is quite different than the requirements of a formal academic paper.

English may well evolve into something completely different; so be it, because it won't be English at that point. While it still is, though, I will continue to reject papers that are written in 'text speak'.

One final note, just because I'm a horrible pedant (and, according to several on DU, 'no fun at parties' - though how they could make that determination is beyond me ;-) ). I appreciate your passion, but please do not assign statements to me that I did not make. To suggest that 'text speak' represents a dumbing down of English does not imply that I believe languages degenerate. I made it clear that I do believe languages evolve.

[Odin2005]

100. Oops, sorry, I mistook you for one of those Prescriptivist grammar Nazis!

:blush:

[enlightenment]

102. Nah, just your garden variety pedant!

;-) :evilgrin:

[XemaSab]

45. If you can use the word "baroque" in a sentence

you are not part of the problem. :P

[Cleita]

46. Thanks but I do have my problems,

not so much with spelling, but with grammar. :dunce:

[RedCappedBandit]

12. y wud u b concrnd

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

13. My problem is not my kids but their friends texting them. Every time they received

text messages I was charged. My solution was to cut off internet access on their phones.

[madokie]

14. Don't forget the ringtones that us older folks can't even hear

Theres lots going on there in their world that we can't fathom, imo

I'm sure our parents thought the same thing about us kids too back in our day.

[boobooday]

17. If they start SPEAKing in text, like Paris Hilton

OMFG, then it's time to be concerned.

TTYM.

[malaise]

18. I keep telling my students that their parents and taxpayers are paying

for them to read text books not messages. What is frightening to me is that students no longer know required spacing for essays. The text messaging lingo is creeping into their written assignments.
It's frightening because they don't even realize what they're doing.

[GentryDixon]

19. My 8 year old grandson got a cell phone about a year ago.

I was concerned about his using shortcuts, but my son let me know he would not allow that. I have since starting texting and I have followed the same example. It takes longer but since I am retired I have plenty of time. :)

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

20. As much as I worry about the music they listen to and the lawns they won't stay off of.

[unpossibles]

21. teenager? my wife and I do it too! nt

[RiverStone]

22. I think the last phone bill had over 1000 text messages...in a month!

Of course, maybe that's not a lot...I have no perspective.

Glad you and your wife are having fun doing it. :)

[unpossibles]

75. hmm. That's like 30+ a day!

Ok, that seems like a lot to me.

[anigbrowl]

104. ?! Get a service that gives you a flat rate

I have better things to do than pay itemized charges on bandwidth uses. If you don't travel much you can get $50/month in some markets for unlimited long distance, voicemail and text. I think Sprint is offering the same package for $99 (but you get the benefits of nationwide availability). Itemized bandwidth usage is for suckers. It probably costs you $5 worth of your time just to scrutinize the bill.

[TexasObserver]

23. I H8 txting!

I have three grown kids and one sister with whom I'll text. And a couple of nieces, but I hate it! I hate it!! I can say 250 words faster than I can text 25 words.

[Odin2005]

24. Sorry, but this is typical "OMG, what is wrong with kids these days" BS

Every generation of parents find BS reasons to whine and bitch about "kids these days" and those reasons are just that, BS.

[RiverStone]

65. And every generation tries to create the best world possible for our kids...

What is BS or not is open to interpretation.

Working in the public schools for 20 years, I can tell you that excessive TV, the overt violence found in video games, the REAL predators that exist in cyberspace (both cyberbullies and pedophiles) and the list goes on...are valid reasons to worry about our kids.

Kids these days are exposed to fantastic opportunities being linked to the world and also they face unique risks that have only recently surfaced with the advent of the internet, MySpace, FaceBook, and even texting. Without the benefit of sight and sound, sometimes kids do not know who the fuck they are really talking to - and the consequenceas can be very dire.

Believe me, seeing the real effects of this technology is not bullshit - but reason enough to supervise (not bitch) about our kids choices.

[LanternWaste]

98. I agree. Completely.

"What is BS or not is open to interpretation."

I agree. Each generation seems to complain about the next about as much as the next generation complains about the current one. Some complaints may be valid and legitimate, some may not be. And what some may dismiss unexamined and out of hand as mere "complaining" can often be actual concern.

It appears to me that with every positive consequence that new technology may allow us, there's also a negative consequence. To examine which consequence is which, and to further examine both the consequence and its concomitant curative (if necessary) seems less like "bullshit complaining" to me and more like a general concern.

[Taverner]

25. Accept it

Its just communication

Communication in itself is Good

[Kitty Herder]

26. I don't have teenageers. But I'm concerned about people of all ages texting and driving.

It scares the crap out of me. I've had some near misses with people who were paying more attention to texting than to driving. That's my only concern with texting.

[donco6]

48. I hate this, too.

Talking on the phone is bad enough - even hands-free. But texting? You might as well be trying to read the newspaper while driving.

[knowbody0]

27. I was not concerned until..................

I cut her phone off per our agreement about minute overage. It was not unlike taking drugs away from a tweeker or something. She totally freaked out, broke everything in her room and threatened to move on to the house stuff - flat screen, computers. I was shocked by her reaction, and only then realized how "connected" she was to the damn phone. she ran away and refused to return until I turned the phone back on.

She was gone for five days but I was in contact with the mom where she was staying. We created a new contract between us, she now has fewer minutes to talk, unlimited texting that she prepays every month.

I don't even try to "understand" anymore. These are the rules, these are your boundaries, and you will lose internet and phone priviledges if you screw up.

God, I'm tired.

[zazen]

32. wow--I think you have a much more serious problem with her than texting

Bravo to you to setting and sticking to limits. I bet you're tired as hell.

If my daughter did that, I'd have her have a full physical workup to eliminate thyroid/endocrine stuff, have her tested for drugs, and have some sort of outpatient counseling (preferably freely provided by school or county.) A violent physical outburst like that at her age is not okay and not just "normal adolescence." It could be borderline, BPD, drugs--and I speak from LOTS of experience from parents who had no earthly idea what was really going on. Nor is it safe or fair to you, and it will get worse without some serious multi-adult intervention. I sure hope you're not having to handle her all by yourself.

[knowbody0]

54. thank you for you concern

I do know that it's more than that. What blew me away was how opposite this behavior was to her normal sweet spirit and easy going nature. She shocked herself. She's just had a physical and apparently is very healthy, grades are good, has a wide variety of friends. She's not at all open to counseling. My fingers are crossed, believe that. All is well for now.

[Horse with no Name]

93. I wouldn't have the school OR the county test her

It will be attached to her school records and every job and college resume from here on out.
Go to a private counselor. It is the ONLY way to secure your private matters stay private.

[knowbody0]

97. yep

[misanthrope]

74. Yet one more in an endless list of reasons I am childfree**nm

**

[seaglass]

28. A really easy way to check in on your kid if you hate texting -

which I do...

I just text a ? (no text) to my son and he knows that means I want to know where he is and when he's coming home. :-)

[deaniac21]

30. My daughter is into telepathy.

[keroro gunsou]

58. don't let her fool you

it's all in her head.

[deaniac21]

63. I just try to ignore....

[Midlodemocrat]

33. Frankly, I'm more worried about their addiction to crack and porn.

[Deja Q]

34. I'm not worried. Of course, being 14 and wanting to get pregnant because her 17 year old sister did

Children having children, what next...

:(

[PeaceNikki]

52. Somehow you've been able to work this into EVERY topic.

Maybe you should stop obsessing over it.

[Deja Q]

69. Aye, you're right...

[EmeraldCityGrl]

36. I'd rather have them texting than holding the phone to their ear.

There's been some research suggesting cell phones can cause brain cancer.
My son's twenty-two year old college roommate recently died from a rare form
of brain cancer so, guess I'm overly concerned.

Just recently read this article from Sweden on a possible connection...

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/cell_tumors_sweden.html

[zazen]

37. digital revolution has powerful implications--I think Facebook is the biggest teenage game changer

Like all communication technologies, it enables amazing new capacities and hinders others.

With texting per se, yes, I put a hard limit on it on the phone and any excess charges come out of her savings. Even texting via phone (which is odious to me) is not just "passing notes." Humans are sending far more short messages via an instantaneous medium with a lot less tactile connection (the paper, the handwriting) without being in the presence of each others' chemical scents and physical gestures. Texting encourages one to fill in the missing (and critical) element of non-verbal communication, which can lead to a lot of misunderstandings. It also encourages social risks one might not otherwise take.

That can be a good thing with teenagers, or not, or everywhere in between, but it is most certainly different. Kids hang out at the virtual mall and live life premediated (I'm thinking of Baudrillard's the Precession of Simulacra); some of that's safer, I guess, but some of that thwarts the social, emotional, and sexual development of learning how to manage anxiety in someone else's physical presence.

But it is most certainly significant. It's not just one more generational change, and 'intergenerational change" is a theme that is itself exceedingly historically contingent.

[recoveringrepublican]

38. I'm deaf and love texting

before it was always a pain for me to get ahold of others and vice versa. All relay services are a pita, I'm thankful for them, but I always use texting when possible. My kids teachers text me, their friends' parents, friends, etc. Even my doctor text messages me!!

[RiverStone]

59. Thanks for sharing your perspective

As they say, until you walk in someone else's shoes...

With the advent of text messaging as a new virtual language, how cool must it be to have another venue that is both mobile and accessible to so many! And not being able to hear the spoken word, texting puts you on the exact same page as anybody (who can text). I would not have thought of this at first glance, but you reminded me otherwise.

It opened a door for you (and for others to communicate easier with you in return). That's great! :)

[RevolutionStartsNow]

42. I hate what it does to their grammar and syntax, but otherwise...

I think it's not that different than when I was young and would spend hours on the phone with my friends, talking about nothing. At least they aren't tying up a phone line, and it's much quieter and less intrusive than having to listen to them on the phone.

Just a new form of communication.

I wonder if they will all have early onset arthritis, though, or other problems with their fingers and thumbs.

[The2ndWheel]

43. When the singularity comes

all of your concerns will be obsolete. You will be obsolete, since you can't even keep up with your kids. Your kids might even be obsolete.

[Hanse]

82. Hey, two Vinge references on the same thread.

Neat stuff.

[RiverStone]

86. Had to look this up....

Ummm. :think:

Kind of reminds me of the Matrix (movies). If singularity is the beginning - where will it end?

Here:

http://mindstalk.net/vinge/vinge-sing.html

One can learn about all sorts of things on DU...

[otherlander]

47. Can we trade concerns?

Please?
(I mean... plz? ;))

[DutchLiberal]

51. If you're concerned about THIS... then how do you react to REAL problems?

Seriously: what wrong with it?

[RiverStone]

60. It's been my experience on DU that we can share problems both big and small...

You assume because I bring up a relatively minor "concern" that it has something to say regarding my reaction to issues more compelling.

Wrong assumption.

We at DU comfort our friends here who have suffered the loss of a loved one, or who may be dealing with a major personal health crisis --- as well we support our friends dealing with simple matters of daily living....like a teenager texting too much, trying to find organic products at our local store, or someone stealing our political yard sign.

In my view, there is no problem too big or to small to share with like minded souls in this cyber community. :grouphug:

[DutchLiberal]

66. Er... my point wasn't whether the problem was big or small...

My point was: it's not a problem!

[RiverStone]

67. Not for you....

But it is a HUGE problem in the public schools.

[DutchLiberal]

68. In the old days, passing notes was the problem. Now it's text messaging.

The problem lies with the kids, not the technology.

[XemaSab]

87. I think the education of the youth is a concern to everyone

and texting may help or hurt this societal aim.

[kcass1954]

53. My son is 22. I leave a message on his voice mail, he responds with a text.

He's on the phone all the time at his job, and it's easier for him to text me. At least I hear from him. I just renewed my cell contract, and added a text plan. If it costs me $5/month to keep in touch with him, it's well worth it!

I made my brother nervous with my own texting in the car. We were driving from Virginia to Raleigh to catch a flight - me at the wheel on a winding country road - I was "conversing" with my kid. My brother finally grabbed the phone - not sure exactly why, I was mostly on the road.

[jmg257]

55. My kids are Ok so far - but a couple nieces are just plain annoying. Texting ALL the time - during

dinner, conversations, homework, parties, etc.

I wouldn't have the patience if they were my kids - the phones wouldn't last long.

[tammywammy]

56. I text as do all my friends

I had over 1,200 text messages last month on my cell phone, but rarely ever call anyone. I also have about 1,500 roll over minutes that I'll never use.

[tnlefty]

57. My kids weren't willing to pick up the tab for texting, so

they don't have it...mean Mom, I know.

I read an article in the local paper a few months ago that mentioned texting appearing in essays, etc. I called one of my teacher friends who teaches high school English and mentioned the article to her, to try to get her perspective, and she went off. She's usually quite calm, but she mentioned having to return papers over the last couple of years to be re written because the texting was interspersed in the papers. She also mentioned that students were becoming less willing to correct the papers, and more belligerent about failing grades on papers.

My teacher friend isn't too happy about it, nor are some other educators that I speak with frequently.

[Deja Q]

70. How does one deal with a belligerent child in that situation?

And students have no right to be belligerent in such a situation.

[misanthrope]

76. Stick by your guns. Your class, your rules**nm

**

[mondo joe]

62. Not at all. Why should I be?

[CRF450]

64. Its annoying, cause I dont have a cell phone thats actually made for texting.

Aggravating as hell when you gotta push the same buttons a few times. Otherwise I don't mind.

[marmar]

71. Hell, I'm 36 and I'm addicting to texting....

###

[MedleyMisty]

72. I'm not irrationally afraid of technology

so no, I see no cause for concern.

[NMDemDist2]

73. my niece used to text her roommate who was in the bedroom next door

in their apt.

:shrug:

[Horse with no Name]

95. My daughter texted me the other day to bring her toilet paper

Apparently she got in the restroom and started her business and looked down to find no toilet paper.:rofl:
My other daughter and her husband text each other from different parts of the house.
I don't get it--but then again, it's not a huge deal in the scheme of things.

[phusion]

77. Growing up, my mom used to complain about how much time...

my sister spent on the phone in her bedroom. A couple of times this led to arguments which resulted in the phone cord being ripped out of the wall. I think my sister ended up paying for a second phone line or something.

I had dialup internet at an early age and grew up in chat rooms (all the while tying up the house line). Some things don't change...I wouldn't be concerned--I think it's a natural part of growing up to have some sort of "communication" addiction.

Of course, I haven't outgrown my addiction!

On edit: I think it's wise to encourage activities where your kids are forced to "go with out" this technology. Spend a couple of days in the wilderness every now and then.

[JonLP24]

78. Texting saves your minutes

That is about the only thing I like about it. It takes me too long to say a few words but I've been around some speed texters, one I sat next to at my data entry job a few years ago. She didn't even look at her phone but was able to type and send messages in a matter of seconds. She was also our most productive worker because she was also a fast typist as well. I'm sure she can safely text and drive because she did it with such accuaracy and speed. It is bad idea all around like talking on your phone but I can see the pictures of people's mind of someone trying to text at the speed and accuaracy as you or me and trying to control a vehicle.

Anyways about the comment about what it does to grammar, you know how long it would take to spell words out? Besides a personal cell phone is not an english test so it shouldn't be treated as such.

[tabbycat31]

79. I text more than I talk

and I freakin WISH my mom would learn how to text because that would be the way I would communicate with her. I *HATE* to talk on the phone so texting is perfect for me.

I don't use the abbreviations in my texts though, and when someone sends me a text I can't decipher, i will ask them to send it back to me in plain english. I hate "netspeak". I don't see a problem with typing out a 3 letter word such as "you"

[Mojorabbit]

80. My nephew is constantly texting

I took him to set up a project for his Eagle Scout and the whole time the woman who I introduced him to was speaking to him re the project he was texting with one hand. I let him have it for being rude on the way home.

[Fumesucker]

81. Eh, when my daughter was in HS it was pagers...

They would send cryptic alphanumeric messages to each other via pager, even worse than texting.. As long as she paid for the pager I didn't care. Now she and her husband both text a lot and my oldest granddaughter is starting to do it too.

I haven't even filled in the phone numbers in my cell because I purely hate pecking out all those letters and numbers, I use the call log exclusively.

On the other hand, I would almost rather type on a real keyboard than talk on the phone.

[Horse with no Name]

96. This is what I have

It's much easier

[kitty1]

83. My 17 year old will be trying out for the text olympics soon.....

pretty soon. I know what you mean. It is a concern when you can't have a simple dialogue without them immersed in some incoming vital message. It really does seem like an addiction at times.
He will turn it off if we strongly tell him to in situations where we want his attention, but it's like taking away cigarettes from a hardcore smoker.
It's almost like their lifeline. How did we ever get along without cell phones before.
My son also prefers texting to actual calls. He returns those right away.
On the other hand, my 19 year old has never owned a cell phone. Of of the 7 teenagers in NA who doesn't own one right now. He wants to use his money for other things. He says he can live without it. Night and Day those 2 on many things.

[Evoman]

85. At my last family gathering....three of the teenagers were sitting in the living room.

Every one of them was texting. No talking. No catching up. Texting.

I don't know if its really a big deal, but it sort of bothers me.....we are sort of an old school Latino family. Even as teenagers, my cousins and I never hated family gatherings, and we have always loved getting together with my uncles and grandparents. But now, with my grown up little cousins, its not the same. They don't talk to us, or with each other, like we used to. It's like they barely know our names....they even pulled out the phones DURING supper, which I thought was a big faux pas.

Im not even 30...never owned a cell phone, have never texted. I gotta admit...I don't get it.

[SoCalDem]

88. They'll be paying for it when they are 35, and cannot grip a hairbrush

or hold onto the steering wheel without pain:(

[Skittles]

90. yes

I do see a huge increase in that kind of problem in the future - absolutely

[Skittles]

89. not sure it's that much different

than the average teen's obsession with the phone in decades past

[Norrin Radd]

92. Humans will someday merge with technology. This may

sound disturbing to us, but it's an inevitable stage of our evolution. Language and communication are also evolving, more rapidly than in the past.

[Horse with no Name]

94. My kids do this constantly

Many of my friends who have teens are trying to adapt to fit into this "text counterculture".
I learned a long time ago to pick your battles with your kid.
It isn't worth saving the barn if you lose the farm.
Good luck!

[AngryAmish]

101. ..and get off of my lawn!!!!

[anigbrowl]

103. Get a phone with a qwerty keyboard

Spreading the alphabet across the 12 keys of the traditional (ha!) phone pad is going the way of the dodo anyway. Laugh manically while contemplating the fact that your teens' mad 12-key texting skills are going to be completely obsolete by the time they're old enough to vote.

I don't text a lot, but it doesn't bother me. I'm a computer guy and really don't like using the telephone.

[muriel_volestrangler]

105. Surgeon carries out amputation by text

A British surgeon volunteering in the Democratic Republic of Congo saved the life of a teenage boy by amputating his shoulder using instructions texted by a colleague in London.

David Nott, 52, a general and vascular surgeon at Chelsea and Westminster hospital, was working with the charity Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) in the town of Rutshuru when he came across the badly injured 16-year-old in October.

The teenager's left arm had been so badly damaged - either in an accident or as a result of the fighting between Congolese and rebel troops - that it had already had to be amputated. But the flesh and bone that remained had become badly infected and gangrenous.
...
The doctor realised the boy's best chance of survival was a forequarter amputation which requires the surgeon to remove the collar bone and shoulder blade. The only problem was that it was an operation Nott had never performed. But he remembered that one of his colleagues at home had carried out the procedure.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/dec/03/congo-text-message-amputation