Last Tuesday, April 20, I ran across an article that actually scared me. It ran on the bbc news site, which announced that "Texting has become the most popular form of communication among young people in the US, research indicates."
The article goes on to announce that, according to a Pew Internet and American Life Project study, texting has now eclipsed mobile phone calls among teenagers for the first time.
And this is what scared me: "More than 30% of teens send more than 100 texts a day, it shows."
Apparently, two-thirds of teenagers are now more likely to text their friends than call them on the phone, and girls on average send or receive more texts than boys - 80 messages per day compared to 30.
Amanda Lenhart, a co-author of the report shared that, "Texting is now the central hub of communication in the lives of teens today, and it has really skyrocketed in the last 18 months.
"The widespread availability of unlimited texting plans has transformed communication patterns of American teens.
"There is definitely an element of text messaging that fits so seamlessly into their lives."
The study's authors added that teenagers preferred texting to phone calls because it could be carried out under the noses of parents, teachers or other authority figures.
When it comes to talking to parents, however, the telephone still seems to be the preferred mode of communication.
Now, why does this strike me as scary?
For one, I was raised in an Internet-free Sweden mid-last century where virtually all communication was either in person or at least by voice over the phone. I mean, we didn't have television until 1962--some neighbors bought them as early as 1959 and these few daring souls soon found themselves "dropped in on" for various thin reasons come television time (which didn't begin in Sweden until late afternoon at that time).
For two, I have always been--and still am--an avid "live communication" fan, I like to see the person I talking to, as in by voice. I was wary of email when it first burst upon the scene, worried it might drive a digital wedge between people rather than improve relationships (I think it's done both).
And what worries me is that the more the Internet--and it's many, many tentacles--spread across the planet, the farther apart we may grow. Closer and faster digitally, farther apart truly.
The texting epidemic struck me as another digital wedge, good business on the surface, and apparently just the teenage ticket. But what does it do to live communication and relationships? I actually don't know at this point, but it has me concerned.
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