If brevity is the soul of wit, then every text sent should be a cracking one-liner – one hallmark of the medium is its character limit, leading to a new dialect, “textspeak”. But is texting getting out of control? Yesterday, the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project released the results of its latest study on modern mobile communication, which found that adult texters are catching up to teens in terms of usage. 72% of adults say they use text messaging, up from 65% last year. Nearly 90% of teens say they text. While adult texting is on the rise, it still has a ways to go before it catches up to teen levels – teens text 50 times a day, while adults manage just 10.
Texting is fast becoming the 21st century’s dominant form of communication. But is something being lost in translation? One CNN.com commenter sums it up with this wisecrack: “Year 2125 –‘I remember my grandparents used to be able to make noises come out of their mouths!’” Columnist Mike Carrozzo likewise worries that rather than enhancing communication, texting is slowly eroding interpersonal bonds. Says Carrozzo, “I fear that text messaging is slowly impairing my ability to hold a decent conversation…I had to find out if technology was indeed impairing my social skills.” Carrozzo embarked on a three-day experiement to break his texting habit, which he details in this month’s issue of Connected World magazine. Every time he received a text, Carrozzo followed up with a phone call to the sender.
Carrozzo cites a separate Pew report that found that the number of teens who text on a daily basis had risen from 38% to 54% in eighteen months. His little experiement, “coupled with the PEW research report, got me thinking about whether or not we as a society truly understand the impact of text messaging or instant messaging, or even email for that matter.” I don’t think we do yet understand the impact short-form instant communication (texting, emailing, tweeting) has had on us as society. For example, anecdotes from college professors shocked to be asked for extensions on major papers or projects via terse, often rude, emails abound. Worse, the number of people who admit to texting while driving is shocking – 4 out of 10 adults say they have texted behind the wheel. More than 40% of adults say they’ve been a passenger while a driver has used a cell phone in a dangerous way.
Texting is a wonderful innovation, and serves many useful purposes. And yet – it has its downsides. Next time you want to reach out to a friend or colleague, why not change things up: call him or her, or better yet – make a date to speak in person. And when you do text? Please don’t do it from behind the wheel.
[Cross-posted to DistractedDrivingSummit.com]