Is Texting Harmful

Is Texting Harmful?

Ashley Robertson ELA B 10b Words June 1st 2013
Is texting harmful? Is it effecting younger generations? Teenagers and adults text when crossing the street and during meal times. They do it throughout the day at school and late at night. Some people even do it so much that there thumbs begin to hurt. People often and send and receive an average of 2,272 text messages per month. That’s about 80 messages a day and the amount of text messages can only get higher in the coming years. Some pros are its faster more convenient, teaches you things for the future and is more private. Some cons are getting addicted, sexting and high bills. However, this author believes texting plays a very important part in our society.
There are many positive aspects to texting. For example it makes communicating much faster and easier. Instead of having to call and make small talk you can just send a quick message that gets straight to the point. Text messaging can also be very convenient to many people because messages can be sent to anyone anytime and anywhere. For example if you are on a business trip and you forget some important papers at home one text message and you can have them with you. Also many individuals are able to get phones that allow certain users to watch movies, listen to music and read book. Many teenagers use their phones to call the Kids Help Phone and can then get advice without anyone else having to know. Having a cell phone can also potentially save someone life because they can call 911 from practically anywhere. Texting gives teenagers an advantage in the workplace because they often do homework and text at the sane tine so they will find it easier to multi task in the future. One researcher even found that texting helps improve your reading ability. “What is texting? Texting is reading and writing” (georgecours.ca/blog/archives/2190), this quote was said by an unknown author and I believe he is trying to say that in order to text you need to know how to read write. In conclusion there are a number of reasons why cellphones and texting are not harming us.
There are also many negative aspects to texting. For example many adults and teenagers have died because they were distracted by their cellphones while driving. Individuals are also finding it harder to pay their monthly phone bills and still be able to pay for other necessities such as groceries and electric bills. Another huge problem for texting is many teenagers are getting into sexting. This is where minors send naked pictures of themselves to their peers. This can affect them seriously in the future. For example they may not be able to get a job because there hirer searched them online and found these pictures. Another drawback is people are becoming seriously dependant on technology. Some teens nowadays cannot be separated from their phones for more than even a minute. They use their phones during school, after school and at home. While texting people tend to use abbreviations this is affecting the younger generations when it comes to spelling and grammar. There are also all those embarrassing drunken texts you send out. An unknown author once said” HI, my name is ET and I am riding my bicycle to the Moon”{http://www.Studentbeans.com?student101/a/relationships/best-drunken-texts-from-studentbeanscom-users2039.html). After looking at the pros and cons of texting, one will see that texting is very beneficial. Texting not only helps teens prepare for the future, but also helps them socialize and make friends. However we should make sure we balance out time using cellphones and communicating with other people in flesh. We should also only use cellphones when necessary and spend the rest of your time studying, playing a sport or going out to coffee with a friend. One question that many people have is does text messaging affect teens social skills. Many researchers have found that texting can be both positive and negative. Since teens are extremely busy these days with school activities, text messaging gives them plenty of time to interact with friends which is a necessary skill to develop socialization skills. The negative side to communicating through text is many people find it hard to have a normal conversation with the person they can usually text for hours. This is because they are not used to seeing the person eye to eye and having to think on their feet rather than thinking a minute or two before responding through text.
In conclusion there are many negative and positive aspects to texting. To choose which is more beneficial is like choosing which side of a coin is more important. Texting is only harmful if you spend too much time on your cellphone or search inappropriate things. Cellphones can affect the younger generations negatively and positively it is hard to tell at this stage. Just remember that next time you are on your cell phone to stay on websites that are appropriate for your age and to take a break and go outside.

Work Cited: * Works by Lesley Hernandez. `Texting. `Youth voices’. April 19th 2013, http://youthvoices.net/discussion/texting.

* Works by Amanda Knowles. `Pros and cons of texting. Get the World`. June 4th 2012, http://thecommunityword.com/online/blog/2009/03/14/pros-and-cons-of-texting/v

* Works by unknown, `Text Messaging. Pros and Cons. Busika`. July 3rd, 2010, text-messages-pros-and-cons

* Works by by Vanessa Van Petten , `Teens and there cell phones. Radical Parenting`.Date:Unknown,http://www.radicalparenting.com/2009/06/09/teens-and-their-cell-phones-the-pros-and-cons-of-text-messaging-teen-article/

Cited: * Works by Lesley Hernandez. `Texting. `Youth voices’. April 19th 2013, http://youthvoices.net/discussion/texting. * Works by Amanda Knowles. `Pros and cons of texting. Get the World`. June 4th 2012, http://thecommunityword.com/online/blog/2009/03/14/pros-and-cons-of-texting/v * Works by unknown, `Text Messaging. Pros and Cons. Busika`. July 3rd, 2010, text-messages-pros-and-cons * Works by by Vanessa Van Petten , `Teens and there cell phones. Radical Parenting`.Date:Unknown,http://www.radicalparenting.com/2009/06/09/teens-and-their-cell-phones-the-pros-and-cons-of-text-messaging-teen-article/