The dangers of texting... ooh...

[alyssaostroff]

Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune, 9/22/08

In the political cartoon, we see two teenage boys texting to each other on their cell phones. They appear to be unaware of their proximity to each other; they will soon collide. The boy in the red shirt asks the boy in the blue shirt “what up?” The boy in the blue shirt asks the same. When the boy in the blue shirt then asks where the boy in the red shirt is, the boy in the red shirt replies via text message “I am… dude! Watch out!!!!” The boy in the blue shirt winds up on the floor with – ironically enough – a broken thumb. H may be confronted with a communication barrier until it heals! The boy in red texts “dude u ok?” And that’s the end of that.

I stumbled across this cartoon and immediately thought of the law California just passed that fines you $20 if you are caught texting while driving. It’s hard to believe that driving with both hands on your cell phone is dangerous. *rolls eyes* People are so swept up in new gadgets and innovative forms of communication that they lose sight of reality. Many are engulfed by technology and they just can’t pull themselves out of it - much like the two boys in the cartoon. Texting is this whole big thing, and they can’t even pay their surroundings any attention, hence the collision. The law recently passed will hopefully keep drivers’ eyes on the road, and both hands on the wheel.

I went to news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10048257-94.html and found out that people text more than they call nowadays! That’s unbelievable. Or maybe that’s just me. Not all of us have a texting plan you know. *sniffles*

When viewing this cartoon I also thought of this radio advertisement I recently heard where a boy texted too much and his thumbs fell off or something, and he asks the doctor if he’s going to be okay. The doctor tells him he is going to make a full recovery. I thought it was a bit far-fetched, but in lou of the incident depicted in the cartoon, I guess anything’s possible.

[roycastro]

California is right for having set that law. I have a couple of friends that text while they drive and we've had some pretty close calls with crashing. I've also seen people that drive with their ELBOWS while texting! It's ridiculous how much technology has taken over the lives of people. As you said, "people... lose sight of reality." It's almost as if they were thinking that they are in no danger because they are texting; that by some miracle, they will be protected from any harm by texting . I'm very paranoid when the driver is texting and I'm in the passenger seat, so I approve of this law.

[priyap09]

In California, a fatal crash of a commuter train brought attention to the impact that text messaging can have on lives of many people. The phone records indicate that the train’s engineer was “sending and receiving text messages while he was on duty.” This shows how actions and misjudgment of one person can influence the lives of others. Just recently, a teenager died while walking in front of an oncoming car because he was busy text messaging on his cell phone. This shows that text messaging accidents also occur within teenagers, not just adults. Is a conversation with your friend more important than your life? There is nothing wrong with texting but people should pay more attention to their surroundings. At school, most people collide with others and walls because they are too busy texting. For their own safety, one should pay attention at least while performing physical activities. Many people believe that they can text while walking because they do not have to look at their cell phone. However, at one point you have to look at the screen and many things can happen in that split second.

[reneec]

I think this cartoon is a very nice and humerous way to show people the dangers of texting and not being aware of your surrounding. However, its a much more serious matter than the cartoon plays it out to be.Not only does what happened in california show the extreme dangers of texting on the road but other incidents as well. I got an email showing a very serious car crash of a man that was driving his little blue car while textin. He didnt have his full attention on the road and ended up swerving off into the oncoming traffic. His car ended up to be totally crushed by what I remember to be an 18 wheeler. They had about 20 pictures showing the accident. His limbs were ripped apart and his body flattened even to the point of where the skin on his face was drooping off. People don't always understand the seriousness of not texting while driving and I admit I'm one of those people. But after seeing that...it scares you into doing whats right for sure.

[Mr. Wells]

Great work, Alyssa. When you say "in lou" you mean "in lieu," unless you are talking about a man named Lou imbibing something.

25/25