Has Texting Replaced Talking For Teens?

Hugh Pickens writes "Sue Shellenbarger has an interesting essay in the WSJ where she talks about the 2,000 incoming text messages her son racks up every month — more than 60 two-way communications via text message every day — and her surprise that 2,000 monthly text messages is about average for today's teenagers. 'I have seen my son suffer no apparent ill effects (except a sore thumb now and then), and he reaps a big benefit, of easy, continuing contact with many friends,' writes Shellenbarger. 'Also, the time he spends texting replaces the hours teens used to spend on the phone; both my kids dislike talking on the phone, and say they really don't need to do so to stay in touch with friends and family.' But does texting make today's kids stupid, as Mark Bauerlein writes in his book ' The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future? 'I don't think so. It may make them annoying, when they try to text and talk to you at the same time,' writes Shellenbarger, adding, 'I have found him more engaged and easier to communicate with from afar, because he is constantly available via text message and responds with a faithfulness and speed that any mother would find reassuring.'"

Comments

Re:Screw the old people!

[girlintraining]

/. is full of curmudgeons, eccentrics and free-thinkers and as a member of that set I resent you trying to call us obsolete just because we don't all use the flavor of the week social network you subscribe to.

You've read too far into my post. Also, I thought we were discussing a general cultural phenomenon that appears strongly age-related. And I was providing a personal anecdote; A view based on my own personal observations. Rather than providing your own, or (le gasp) an article or citation that would allow the discourse to proceed more intelligently, you've resorted to an ad hominem attack (yes, I too can use latin and sound smart).

Slashdot isn't full of "curmudgeons, eccentrics, and free-thinkers" -- there's more of them here, sure, but there's just as many people willing to jump to conclusions, stick with tradition, and tell anyone who disagrees to get bent almost as much as their is in the real world. We've just intellectualized it a bit more. We're a bunch of somewhat smarter people arguing about the same things our less educated counterparts do. In short, our shit is mixed with potpourri.

You aren't obsolute because you don't use the same social networking site I do. You're obsolete because you can't see anything except through the colored lenses of your own preconceptions.