R U a Txtr?

Recently, teenagers have begun to fall under many categories. Some teenagers can fall under the “frequent texters” label. Often times, I will see teenagers walking down the street, cell phone in hand, texting just as fast as they can. Texting has, in some ways, revolutionized America, in some ways it has caused problems, in some ways it causes health problems, and has an interesting history. As many as seventy four percent of mobile phone users as of 2007 have texting. It indicates the entrance of future technology.

Some people have noticed the good change that texting has brought upon the population. For those who fear awkward phone conversations, texting gives them relief. Open the phone, punch in a few words, and press send. Does your dog do random, cute things when the camera lies in a different room? No problem. Just whip out the cell phone and snap a quick picture and send a picture message to your friends. No camera required. Also, one can send a quick text message to a friend without worrying about bothering them. Texting can easily keep friends in touch and updated through this convenient form of communication. If a business man stands in a loud area, eats at a restaurant or waits in line at the post office, talking on phone can result in rudeness. He can send a quick message without disturbing others while acquiring his goal.

Along with everything else, texting can cause some issues. For one, studies have shown that texting has quickly diminished grammar use in the twenty-first century. Teens have created abbreviations such as “u” for “you” and “btw” for “by the way” for quicker messaging. After much usage, these abbreviations have caused a slow disintegration in today’s grammar. Forgotten periods, neglected capitalization, ignored commas, and atrocious spelling have become normal. Texting has not helped in these areas. As one can see, texting has its good effects, and it has its bad effects.

With more than an average of one hundred texts sent per day per teen, one has to wonder if texting causes health issues. Yes, in fact, it can cause health problems. Some teenagers suffer from sleep deprivation because of excessive texting. Also, excessive use of the cell phone or the computer will cause a teen to lose track of time and get less done in the day than normal. Long periods of separation from a teen’s cell phone can sometimes lead to anger, tension, and depression. Many people have awareness of the effect texting while driving can have. As they say, too much of something always causes problems.

Sent to the phone of Richard Jarvis, the first text message said “Merry Christmas”. Neil Papworth sent this message from a personal computer, and it arrived in December of 1992. Primarily invented for use by the hearing impaired, texting did not gain much popularity right away. Eventually, texting did gain much popularity. Today, many people have access to this popular technology. Slowly, texting has changed the way the world communicates.

Citizens in America today text much more than they once did. Slowly, the percentage of America’s population adds texting to their cell phones. This rise in texting causes some problems, but it also causes some good things. Texting may cause a rise in crashes, it may cause a rise of teenagers’ sleeping problems, or it may cause a rise in good social interaction. Who knows? Only time will reveal the kind of impact texting will have on the world.