The Damaging Results of Texting (Text Messaging) on Teens

I first noticed the fad of texting start to pick up around the time I entered the Junior High for the eighth grade, four years ago. Many of my friends were obtaining cell phones and some of them had texting abilities. I received my older brother's cell phone the summer following the ninth grade, though I did not have texting. My dad has always paid for the cell phone and as a result I never received texting, though my phone does receive texts.

As a result of this, I have had the opportunity to watch from the sidelines as almost all of my friends and acquaintances have had their phones slowly adhere to them like a parasite and become an inextricable appendage removable only by laborious surgery. Texting has long since moved past a means of communication; it has become an addiction, a festering itch that must be scratched.

Though I indulge in hyperbole in the previous statements, it seems to fit too many people perfectly. I know too many people that have become so attached to their cell phone and texting that they have become inept when it comes to actually talking to someone in a real life situation.

Texting seems to have become an ersatz mode of dialogue seeking to replace face to face communication and even the phone call. Many of my friends are continually texting whenever they have the chance. If they aren't, then they will text somebody a conversation starter for the sole sake of holding the phone in their hands. I've had people tell me that they will act like they're texting when alone or walking down the hall because they feel insecure. It seems that texting has made some teens isolated and unable to converse successfully with their peers like normal adolescents.

I will often be talking to a friend only to have them pull their phone out to read and answer a text message and completely zone me out. They'll then look back up at me and have no idea what I just said. This occurrence happens all too often in my day to day associations. Other times I will be speaking to a group of people and they will all suddenly be texting, leaving me awkwardly standing there, the only one not absorbed in the texting dimension. This scenario becomes frustrating as it recurs all too frequently.

Another problem I perceive is relationships being built solely from the conversations that many teen peers get by texting. I've found that when any given person in the school says "yeah, I talked to her last night," they actually mean that they texted her last night. I've never seen a "texting relationship" end well or even go anywhere and have found that face to face conversation is much more effective in constructing lasting bonds.

When I receive a text from a friend inviting me to one event or another, it almost saddens me. The text seems so impersonal, nonchalant and insignificant. I would much rather receive a phone call and actually have the opportunity to talk to the friend.

Although I see more cons than pros of text messaging, I have observed some valuable benefits of this technology. One of these is the ability to acquire information quickly and easily. Services such as ChaCha send a prompt reply to a question, giving the holder of a cell phone infinite information in the palm of their hand. Texters are also able to effortlessly transfer important information to friends and family. Despite these advantages, texting has become an untamed obsession for many teens and is out of control.

I write this entire not to complain about how much I have come to dislike texting. I instead hope that the readers of this, particularly teens, might realize the importance of enjoying the company of the people that they're with and stop trying to be in two places at once. I believe that talking face to face with other teens is an important part of growing up and learning the myriad of skills required to communicate well. It's been my observation that texting is taking away from this important stage of development and robbing teens of acquiring vital social skills. Though texting has many benefits, I believe it should be used in moderation. We know that texting has become an unmanageable dependence when it is used in place of the timeless method of communication called speech. And that tells me that something needs to change.