This Texting Craze Has Got to Stop!

I read with interest a story that ran in the Chronicle on Sunday about teens texting. There was a whole list of problems attached to the bad habit, including injured thumbs, and sleep deprivation. I personally would be curious to see the research on how it is increasing attention difficulties.

It's not just teens either. Young adults are in constant communication mode as well, either by Instant Messages or Texting. I understand that communication is important to people in these age groups but having a full conversation in staccato back-and-forth bursts of abbreviated language might spell doom for real communication skills (rather than tech devices) as these kids get older.

Even back when I was a pre-teen and teen, we communicated constantly, although it was a definite challenge with cord-tethered rotary phones with no call waiting that we had back then.

We wrote notes to each other in class because there was no such thing as cell phones or texting. Any given moment, there was something to say to a peer or friend, and we got the job done despite the primitive methods of communication. We weathered the embarrassment when the passed note got into the wrong hands. (not to mention detention if caught by the teacher)

Long phone conversations with friends led other friends to frustrating (hours of) busy signals - possibly the most obnoxious sound of my youth. Just when you REALLY had to tell someone something, instead of a voice coming on at the other end of the phone, a loud BUZZ-BUZZ-BUZZ sound would be received.

Now voices are becoming completely obsolete. I even read about people asking for divorce via text message. If the pop culture sites are correct, Britney Spears did it this way.

What's next? Will someone actually receive this message?

"WILL U MARRY ME? xxoo"

And will the person it's addressed to text the answer?

"4 sure <3 "

But I do worry that real conversation is replaced with digital conversation-- either IM's, Facebook entries, or text messages. Many have asked before: Is the art of conversation dying in this digital age? What do you think?