Young Cell Users Rack Up Debt, a Message at a Time By LISA W. FODERARO http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/09/technology/09message.html?oref=login&pagew anted=print&position=
Chaz Albert, a freshman at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., is a passionate "texter," someone who loves to send and receive pithy text messages via cellphone. He does it at home, at school and at work. He often prefers texting over talking on his cellphone. Last month, though, Mr. Albert's habit caught up with him. Only $80 of his $400 cellphone charges were his father's, and most of his own, he said, were for text-messaging. "I was shocked, but I couldn't do anything about it," he said. "I didn't realize that I got charged for reading text messages. My dad was just like: 'Hey, it's your problem. Pay it.' " In the last two years, text messages - which cell carriers generally limit to 160 characters - have become a rage among teenagers, who embrace the technology as yet another way to escape a boring class or stay in touch with friends. But text-messaging, or texting for short, has a downside. It can be expensive. Although phone companies offer relatively inexpensive packages - like Verizon Wireless's $9.99 for 1,000 messages a month - industry experts say that carriers sometimes fail to draw customers' attention to the cost-saving deals, and that customers themselves, especially young people, often exceed the number of messages allowed. In those cases, sending a text message usually costs 10 cents; the cost of receiving one ranges from 2 to 10 cents. The sticker shock is reminiscent of the early days of cellphones, when users often were surprised by how much they were charged for going over their allotted minutes or for phoning someone outside their calling areas. Many high school and college students accustomed to sending unlimited instant messages on their computers do not adapt easily to text messaging's pay-per-message format, and end up with unexpectedly high bills when they get involved in keypad conversations that involve hundreds, even thousands, of messages a month. The results are angry confrontations with parents, long-term payment plans and the loss of cellphone privileges. "It's relatively addictive, and it's only when that first massive bill comes in that you realize that a dime a throw can run up a large bill," said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project, a nonprofit group that studies the social impacts of the Internet. Sometimes, the only way a cellphone customer can learn the cost of text messaging is to ask, according to industry experts. "They basically just hand you the phone and say, 'Here, have a good day,' " said Allen Nogee, the principal analyst for the wireless technology group at Instat, a market research firm in Scottsdale, Ariz. Karina Gonzalez, a sophomore at Newtown High School in Queens and a regular sender of instant messages by computer, had her phone confiscated by her mother after her text messages resulted in a $150 phone bill, triple the usual amount. "I cried," she said. "I felt like I lost a piece of me. You can send a million instant messages a day, and it won't cost you anything. If you send one text message, it can cost you like a phone call." Her friend Denise Lucero, 15, who has never owned a cellphone, surreptitiously used her father's phone for a while, she said, to text-message her friends. One month, those messages pushed his bill to $300. Then her father started to hide his phone: on top of the refrigerator, under the sofa, behind the television set, in his pillow. Both girls said their inability to text message made them feel left out of the action. "It's about feeling part of a little group with cellphones," Denise said. "You want to learn what is going on." Text-messaging has flourished for years in Europe and Asia, where it is immensely popular among young people. In the United States, activity was limited until 2002, when a breakthrough in the wireless market allowed short text messages to be sent among customers of the major cellular carriers. Previously, customers could send messages only to those who used the same carrier. The service, known as S.M.S. (for Short Message Service), has since taken off. According to a recent report from Forrester Research, a company in Cambridge, Mass., that specializes in technology, Americans sent 2.5 billion text messages a month in mid-2004, triple the number sent in mid-2002. Teenagers are clearly driving the trend. "Younger people do text messaging a lot more than older folks," said Mr. Nogee of Instat. "They're more used to it from instant messaging on the computer, from growing up with it. Older people would rather call up and talk." According to a recent survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 38 percent of all teenagers who use the Internet have sent a text message using a cellphone. "Text messaging is a way to take instant messaging on the road," said Amanda Lenhart, a Pew research specialist. "It's definitely growing." Verizon Wireless, with 42 million customers, reported a fivefold increase in the number of text messages sent and received monthly, to almost one billion in the fall from 200 million in early 2003. A Verizon spokesman, Howard Waterman, said that people aged 16 to 24 represented the "leading customer segment." (He said he could not break out exact figures, for "competitive reasons.") Even some young sophisticates who scoffed at the text-messaging craze have caught the bug - and been stung. "Before I started using it, it seemed like a really ridiculous way to communicate," said Emily Seife, a junior at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. "But then it became a way to send a funny one-liner to a friend." Ms. Seife is on the family's cellular plan, and two months ago, her father did a double take when the bill arrived. The text-messaging feature had jacked it up - Ms. Seife would not say how much - and she was asked to contribute $100 and told to either curb her text-messaging enthusiasm or get a different plan. "I knew it was 10 cents a message," she said, "but I didn't really realize how much that would add up." Some parents are sympathetic, saying young people are simply taking their cues from grown-ups. "It's hard to be critical, because of the way we use e-mail and BlackBerries and Palm Pilots," said Karen Engelemann, a freelance book designer and mother in Dobbs Ferry. "I would have loved it when I was her age, so I have to put myself in that situation," Ms. Engelmann said, referring to the enthusiasm that her 12-year-old daughter, Lilly Ulfers, developed for text messaging. But that did not stop Ms. Engelmann from reprimanding Lilly when a recent cellphone bill arrived with a $40 text-messaging charge. High schools and colleges have struggled with cellphone use in general and text messaging in particular, with many insisting that phones be stowed away during class or banned altogether. But students manage to send text messages anyway, pressing buttons discreetly (or not so) behind books and under desks. "Everyone does it in class," said Meredith Negri, 18, a freshman at the University of Hartford. School officials also know firsthand the widespread financial duress caused by cellphones. At Mission High School in San Francisco, where three-quarters of the 975 students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, the principal, Kevin Truitt, says that many students were blindsided by costs associated with text-messaging and other features, like customized ring tones. "It's causing family fights; the kids are broke, and a lot are graduating with debt because of cellphones," he said. "The carriers just seem to be adding new features that cost more and more and more. The students are not reading the fine print. No one understands the contract until they get the first bill and it's $800." Clay Owen, a spokesman for Cingular Wireless, the nation's largest carrier with 46 million customers, said that "in an ideal world" the sales staff would explain the text-messaging feature and its cost. "They are trained to go through the packages with the customers," he said. "Does it happen every time? Obviously, with various salespeople and depending on the situation, there could be times it does not happen." Mr. Waterman of Verizon Wireless advised young people to explore cost-effective packages and to track their messaging activity during the billing cycle by reviewing accounts online. The company also has a new service that allows customers to dial their cellphones for an up-to-date tally - delivered by a free text message. Cingular customers can monitor how many phone minutes they have used in the middle of a billing period, but cannot track their text messages, Mr. Owen said. For some young people, the cellphone ordeals, though painful, have proved valuable. What is left, it seems, after the bills are paid and the family tensions subside is the emergence of a new maturity when it comes to money. Brian Colas, a student at City as School in Brooklyn, said he reined in his habit after his mother stopped paying his bill. "When you start paying, then you don't have money to spend on other things," he said. Mr. Albert's stepbrother, Judan Lynk, a junior at Mercy College, decided to cancel his text-messaging service after receiving a $400 bill in August. (His monthly plan, before taxes and surcharges, was $50, and he had no text-messaging package.) He paid the bill in installments, working extra hours as a sales clerk at Restoration Hardware. "At the end of this month, I'll be cut off," he said with a swish of his hand. But there was still time to check his phone for the latest text message. It was from a friend in Ohio, telling him to answer his cellphone. Jennifer 8. Lee contributed reporting for this article. You are a subscribed member of the infowarrior list. Visit www.infowarrior.org for list information or to unsubscribe. This message may be redistributed freely in its entirety. Any and all copyrights appearing in list messages are maintained by their respective owners.
