Overhype

Overhype

by IC Expert,
Carlo Longino


Filed Under:
moral panic, teens, texting



Texting Is Wrecking Your Teenager's Mind, Destroying Their Thumbs, Killing Puppies, Etc.

from the doom-and-gloom dept

The New York Times says the growing use of texting among teenagers "is beginning to worry physicians and psychologists". Apparently all the texting kids do creates anxiety, keeps them from getting enough sleep, and causes repetitive stress injuries. Sure, texting could have some some negative impact on some kids, but like with so many things, for every citation of some horror texting causes, you can find studies touting texting's benefits, too. And finding one girl who texted so much it made her thumbs hurt really isn't a sign of an epidemic, either. It certainly makes for some good headlines, but is the rise of texting among teens really any different than the growth of any other technology, none of which seem to have killed us off yet?

Carlo Longino is an expert at the Insight Community. To get insight and analysis from Carlo Longino and other experts on challenges your company faces, click here.

17 Comments | Leave a Comment..

 
 

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  1. May 26th, 2009 @ 4:46pm

    Think of the kids, damn it!

    by John Doe

    We should all be put in large rubber rooms for our own protection. Maybe they could pass a law? Or dozens of laws? I have no idea what we, the common people, would do without the government to protect us from oursevles?

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  2. May 26th, 2009 @ 5:32pm

    Isn't this just a recycled story from 2003?

    by Anonymoose

    "Texting. It's all the rage among kids these days".. I swear I see this same dopey story every couple of years. Er. Slow news day?

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  3. May 26th, 2009 @ 6:09pm
    by Anonymous Coward

    Stories about the dire consequences from texting is ruining the credibility of those who create this drivel.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  4. May 26th, 2009 @ 6:21pm

    But think of the children!

    by Thomas

    Make them wear mittens all the time. Sheesh.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  5. May 26th, 2009 @ 6:24pm
    by Anonymous Coward

    I hear texting is also making bloggers get stupider over time.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  6. May 26th, 2009 @ 6:38pm

    Texting! Oh noes!

    by Blatant Coward

    In before teenager texting their dad about getting laid for the first time.


    What?

    Dang! Super Dang!

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  7. May 26th, 2009 @ 7:09pm

    On Texting...

    by daddyg33k

    When I look back into the late nineties, back when the wave of the future was the 2G phone, and the Nokia Bricksters roamed the Earth in the States...the other side of the planet (I.E. China/Japan) had already adopted SMS as the preferred medium of communications amongst the younger generation. This being said, with the Western Hemisphere trailing 10 years behind our Eastern neighbors wouldn't the damage of SMS already be evident if we a quick glance to the East? I am sure the tabloids are milking the hell out of this one... 'The dangers of the text message, are YOUR children safe??' Well my only point to make is this...if SMS was the next Whippet like problem with our youth, wouldn't the devastation already be measurable by looking at a society that was doing a decade ago what are doing today? Or did they already blame text messaging as the cause of SARS...

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  8. May 26th, 2009 @ 7:24pm
    by Anonymous Coward

    They should sit at the computer all day and chat like we did in the 90s. Young whipper snappers!

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  9. May 26th, 2009 @ 7:36pm

    Yeah... Do any of these teenagers have parents?

    by Dave M

    Once again, the media reports on some horror technology is unleashing on the children. Once again, proper parenting would solve the problem. Apparently the majority of humans in society today are simply incapable of behaving responsibly.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  10. May 26th, 2009 @ 7:37pm

    Re:

    by Anonymous Coward

    But then there would be a broken finger to point

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  11. May 26th, 2009 @ 7:58pm

    Texting

    by NullOp

    The worst injury caused by texting is your judgement is impared and you keep texting and texting and texting.....and then the dog start texting back and, boy, some of the ideas are weird but somehow make sense. Ya' know?

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  12. May 26th, 2009 @ 8:53pm

    Re: Yeah... Do any of these teenagers have parents?

    by Joe

    Amen on that one. Same for all the parents that think things like video games, music, and TV are ruining our childrens' lives. Take some responsibility and stop blaming other for your own faults.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  13. May 26th, 2009 @ 9:38pm

    In Other news,

    by Phread

    In other news, physicians and psychologists incomes down by 30% in bad economy.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  14. May 26th, 2009 @ 10:43pm

    Re:

    by Anonymous Coward

    You've got to be kidding me.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  15. May 27th, 2009 @ 1:27am

    And Rock 'n Roll was encouraging devil worshipping

    by icon MadJo (profile)

    Seriously, don't these people learn from their own f-ing past?

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  16. May 27th, 2009 @ 7:21am

    Re: But think of the children!

    by Anonymous Coward

    No, that wouldn't work. Mittens still have thumbs silly wabbit.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  17. May 29th, 2009 @ 10:21am

    Old as the hills

    by icon Silver Fang (profile)

    Ranting and raving over new technology and trends is nothing new. In the early 1900s, phonographs and movies were the target, in the 40s, it was comic books, since the 50s TV has been a favorite target and since the 1990s, the Internet and so on.

    Every 20 or so years, a new technology will be embrace by young people and eschewed and reviled by their elders. Even Plato ranted and raved about corrupt youth in ancient Athens.

    It's as old as the hills!

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

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