Texting

[sijunlisrad]

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

This cartoon is a humorous take on our generation's obsession with text messaging. The first two scenes show two teenage boys having a casual conversation with each other using their "IM" lingo. The last two scenes depict the two boys crashing into each other because of their lack of attention. Rather than verbally telling his friend "Watch out!!!", the boy in the red shirt texts the warning instead. The other boy's result from the "accident" was that he injured his thumb. The boy in the red showed concern by texting "dude u ok?" instead of actually asking his injured friend.

Technology has definitely taken over the lives of our generation. Teenagers would rather text their friends rather than give them a call. I know that there's absolutely no way I can live without text messaging; it's a simple and fast way to communicate with friends. Also, with the rising prices of everything in our economy, phone bills are constantly increasing and the use of minutes is like a time bomb: use too much and the phone bill will burst your piggy bank. One can pay a flat rate for text messages and save money by not using up their valuable minutes. While text messaging is a convenient way of communicating, I do feel that teenagers should not depend on it. It should not be the primary focus all the time; they need to pay attention to what's happening in the real world.

[gretchenm]

When I saw this cartoon and read your response I thought of the boy who got run over by a car when he crossed the street whie texting. Your logic with the cheaper phone bill was true. You certainly analyzed the cartoon fully and presented a strong case. However, people should not over use texting because it can easily distract you from important things, like cars. Sometimes texting is just impractical. Peope should practice social skills by actually speaking to people face-to-face, or learn to communicate out loud, which would also help them in their future careers. Texting seems to cause lack of important skills and etiquette. It is useful when necessary, such as when it would be impolite to call in cases like late at night. Though, perhaps one should realize that even texting late at night or early in the morning at usual times for sleeping, or at school is rude.

[daniellek]

*Gretchen I disagree with your response, and think you took this political cartoon a little too literally. Texting does not necessarily take away from one’s people’s skills, but allows you to communicate with someone when you can not speak to them directly or face to face. If anything texting enhances your people skills because you practice the action of thinking before you speak, and I highly doubt that one’s ability to communicate out loud would be diminished by the use of texting especially when we come in contact with people to whom we have to speak to face to face everyday. I also fail to see where texting causes a lack of etiquette; etiquette is a learned habit that almost everyone is taught from a young age. And as someone who has been taught proper etiquette and also uses texting often, I can tell you that I still uses please and thank you’s, good morning and goodnight’s. However, I do agree with you when you said that texting is “…useful when necessary, such as when it would be impolite to call in cases like late at night.” Yet, I disagree when said it was rude to text someone when they are sleeping. I think it’s pretty safe to say that people text at those hours of the day when they don’t want to disrupt someone, but they still want the person to get the message. For example say you accidently leave something at a friend’s house and by time you realize it, it is too late to call. By simply sending a text message you don’t have interrupt the person’s slumber, but you know the next morning, given they have checked their phone, that they have received the message.

*Note: (This is not the political cartoon I am responding to.)

[sijunlisrad]

Gretchen,
I understand why you find texting a distraction. It is indeed, very dangerous to focus your full attention on it, like the example of the boy you mentioned. However, like Danielle, I disagree with your opinion on the lack of communication skills involved with text messaging. In contrast to your response, texting allows new friends to communicate with each other without feeling awkward. In fact, from personal experience, I've learned that texting allows unfamiliar people to get to know each other in a calm, comfortable way. It also gives them things to talk about when they are actually together in person.

Danielle,
I completely agree with your statement about the handiness of texting when you don't want to disrupt someone. In fact, your example of leaving things at a friend's house describes me oh-so-well. Pretty much every other week, I'll realize that I left something at someone's house at about two in the morning. Rather than calling her and waking her up, I'll text her and the next morning, she'll know to bring that item to school.

[jonathons]

This cartoon clearly shows how distracted this generation of kids and adults as well are by texting. Texting is done all over the place. School is said that students are not supposed to use their phones but I would probably say that 90% of the school students text at Piper High School. Recently, my first block teacher told me that now there are more car accidents due to texting rather than drunk driving and other more thought of reasons. That is going to clearly be a problem in the near future.

[sarahe57]

I completely agree with your interpretation of this cartoon. Teenagers nowadays, all they do is text. I would not be able to live without text messaging either, but I think that certain kids take it too overboard. For example, texting your friend when they are right next to you is completely pointless. Not to mention a waste of a text message. Technology is only going to become way more advanced for the generations to come.

[Mr. Wells]

Great work, Sijun.

25/25