RU TXTNG, NT?
Written By Savvy Auntie Staff Writers
by Lauren Rogoff
It’s official: if you want to communicate with teen your niece or nephew, you’d better send them a text message. Recent research has found that texting has become the main form of communication for teenagers and everyone with whom they communicate. The number of texts per day has risen among teens from 50 a day in 2009, to 60 a day today. The frequency of phone calls has fallen, as nieces and nephews more frequently use their thumbs to do the talking. An increasing amount of teenagers also have smart phones (31% of kids ages 14-17).
Of course, all of this texting might not be the best news for the health of your niece or nephew. Texting can pose some serious risks. In addition to the loss in social skills that come with the decrease in verbal communication, there are some very real and far-reaching dangers of texting. One especially dangerous hazard for your niece or nephew comes from texting while driving. Some research suggests that texting may be a particularly grave threat to teen drivers, who are less comfortable and familiar with the rules of the road. Nieces and nephews might also receive texts after turning out their lights, waking up to answer each text, disrupting their sleep.
Other ramifications from texting that can have terrible fallout are sexting and cyberbullying. Both sexting (sending a text message with sexually explicit content or pictures), and cyberbullying (sending harassing text messages) can lead to emotional pain, hurt feelings, and very real ramifications, including criminal charges in some cases. Remind your niece or nephew that that every text message he or she sends can be shared with the entire world. Check out more about the dangers of teen texting here.
So text your niece or nephew, Auntie, and tell them to pick up the phone and call once in a while!
Photo: David Castillo Dominici
Published: March 26, 2012