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Predictive Texting Could Alter Children's Brains, Says Researcher

by Warren Riddle on August 11, 2009 at 12:25 PM


According to Australian researchers, the radiation emitted from a cell phone when sending a text message is only 0.03-percent of that produced during a voice call. It seems, then, with all the risks associated with cell phone radiation, texting would obviously be a safer method of communication.

The same researchers, though, claim that may not be the case. According to ABC Science, a team from Monash University recently conducted a Mobile Radiofrequency Phone Exposed Users' Study (Cleverly called MoRPhEUS, which is a fancy way of saying cell phone-based) on 317 children between 11 and 14 years of age.

The researchers determined that the subjects who used their phones more frequently, especially for predictive texting (the services that automatically complete words), finished tests sooner than other subjects, but with more incorrect answers. Researcher and epidemiology professor Michael Abramson told ABC Science that predictive texting is "training kids to be fast but inaccurate." He went on to explain, "If you're used to... entering a couple of letters and getting the word you want, you expect [the world] to be like that."

The study concludes that while texting may not cause cancer or other ailments, it may, in fact, be making kids dumber and more dependent upon others. If true, this does not bode well for the future, especially given the extreme texting habits of today's teens. [From: ABC Science]

Tags: cell phone, CellPhone, predictive text, PredictiveText, t9, teens, texting, top

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