Surprise, Surprise: Adults Can't Deal With Their Kids Texting Habits
In addition to death and taxes, life seems to hold at least one other certainty: The older generation will fret over the younger one's preferred means of entertainment. Over the centuries, parents have freaked out over scandalous stories, books, radio programming, TV, the Internet, and goodness knows what else. In keeping with that grand old tradition, the New York Times reported yesterday that many adults are perturbed by those dang kids and their dang texting.
Citing the opinions and research of parents and professors from the San Francisco Bay to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the article demonstrates that public opinion finds teenage texting guilty of causing anxiety, sleep loss, developmental problems and even physical harm (see repetitive stress, or strain, injury). We can hear it already: "Next up on the five o'clock news. Are text messages killing our children?"
Look, we give technology as much credit as the next blog, but let's be honest here; a new form of technological distraction isn't going to fundamentally change our children, for better or for worse. As with anything, the excessive use of text messaging can cause problems. But haven't we learned by now that excess in most any form is a symptom, rather than a cause, of some other affliction? If that kid weren't texting night and day, she'd surely be instant messaging. Or using Facebook. Or talking on the phone. Or passing notes in class. Or sending smoke signals.
To such an eye-rollingly predictable freak-out, we can only offer this eye-rollingly predictable proverb: kids will be kids. [From: New York Times Via: The Business Insider]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
strider_mt2k said 8:31AM on 5-27-2009
Not only that, but if they keep making that face it'll stick like that and then they'll be sorry.
Don't make me pull this car over.
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pepstr said 10:28AM on 5-27-2009
very simple, block texts on phones
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javantuyle said 4:39PM on 6-17-2009
Isn't it just marvelous that we are teaching our childreen how to text. Think how much the economy is being helped by the hugh cell phone bills that the parents are paying.
I hope the kids that are so great at texting are smart enought to graduate from school!!!!
I am glad we dont have teenagers. We probably would go to jail for being cruel to our children for not letting them have cell phones!!!!!!!
J
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martini9134 said 4:54PM on 7-26-2009
for parents---there is a sight called textalerts--showed be ch. 11,,,to read all thiere txt's,
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jacqui said 1:12PM on 7-27-2009
Tell me more, martini9134. I teach technology to kids and have a tech blog (askatechteacher.wordpress.com). I'd love to post how to manage teen texting and tell my parents about it next school year.
Thanks.