Like Frank, I am sooo tired of media hype of exaggerated stuff, and the conflating of assertions with documented evidence.
Barry Wellman _______________________________________________________________________ S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology, FRSC NetLab Director Department of Sociology 725 Spadina Avenue, Room 388 University of Toronto Toronto Canada M5S 2J4 twitter:barrywellman http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman fax:+1-416-978-3963 Updating history: http://chass.utoronto.ca/oldnew/cybertimes.php _______________________________________________________________________ On Wed, 27 May 2009, F. Thomas wrote: > Date: Wed, 27 May 2009 12:22:46 +0200 > From: F. Thomas <[email protected]> > Cc: [email protected] > Subject: [mobile-society] Re: Texting May Be Taking a Toll > > > 3,500 text messages a week: this is a national average for young age > groups, or a peak volume from an addict and found by a journalist to > push the attention of the reader ? > > > ernan dlcp wrote: > > http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/26/health/26teen.html?_r=1&em=&pagewanted=print > > <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/26/health/26teen.html?_r=1&em=&pagewanted=print> > > May 26, 2009 > > > > > > Texting May Be Taking a Toll > > > > By KATIE HAFNER > > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/katie_hafner/index.html?inline=nyt-per> > > > > They do it late at night when their parents are asleep. They do it in > > restaurants and while crossing busy streets. They do it in the > > classroom with their hands behind their back. They do it so much their > > thumbs hurt. > > > > Spurred by the unlimited texting plans offered by carriers like AT&T > > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/at_and_t/index.html?inline=nyt-org> > > Mobility and Verizon > > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/verizon_communications_inc/index.html?inline=nyt-org> > > Wireless, American teenagers sent and received an average of 2,272 > > text messages > > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/t/text_messaging/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier> > > per month in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the Nielsen > > Company — almost 80 messages a day, more than double the average of a > > year earlier. > > > > The phenomenon is beginning to worry physicians and psychologists > > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/psychology_and_psychologists/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier>, > > who say it is leading to anxiety > > <http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/symptoms/stress-and-anxiety/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier>, > > distraction in school, falling grades, repetitive stress injury and > > sleep deprivation. > > > > Dr. Martin Joffe, a pediatrician in Greenbrae, Calif., recently > > surveyed students at two local high schools and said he found that > > many were routinely sending hundreds of texts every day. > > > > “That’s one every few minutes,” he said. “Then you hear that these > > kids are responding to texts late at night. That’s going to cause > > sleep issues > > <http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/specialtopic/insomnia-concerns/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier> > > in an age group that’s already plagued with sleep issues.” > > > > The rise in texting is too recent to have produced any conclusive data > > on health effects. But Sherry Turkle, a psychologist who is director > > of the Initiative on Technology and Self at the Massachusetts > > Institute of Technology > > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/m/massachusetts_institute_of_technology/index.html?inline=nyt-org> > > and who has studied texting among teenagers in the Boston area for > > three years, said it might be causing a shift in the way adolescents > > develop. > > > > “Among the jobs of adolescence > > <http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/specialtopic/puberty-and-adolescence/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier> > > are to separate from your parents, and to find the peace and quiet to > > become the person you decide you want to be,” she said. “Texting hits > > directly at both those jobs.” > > > > Psychologists expect to see teenagers break free from their parents as > > they grow into autonomous adults, Professor Turkle went on, “but if > > technology makes something like staying in touch very, very easy, > > that’s harder to do; now you have adolescents who are texting their > > mothers 15 times a day, asking things like, ‘Should I get the red > > shoes or the blue shoes?’ ” > > > > As for peace and quiet, she said, “if something next to you is > > vibrating every couple of minutes, it makes it very difficult to be in > > that state of mind. > > > > “If you’re being deluged by constant communication, the pressure to > > answer immediately is quite high,” she added. “So if you’re in the > > middle of a thought, forget it.” > > > > Michael Hausauer, a psychotherapist in Oakland, Calif., said teenagers > > had a “terrific interest in knowing what’s going on in the lives of > > their peers, coupled with a terrific anxiety about being out of the > > loop.” For that reason, he said, the rapid rise in texting has > > potential for great benefit and great harm. > > > > “Texting can be an enormous tool,” he said. “It offers companionship > > and the promise of connectedness. At the same time, texting can make a > > youngster feel frightened and overly exposed.” > > > > Texting may also be taking a toll on teenagers’ thumbs. Annie Wagner, > > 15, a ninth-grade honor student in Bethesda, Md., used to text on her > > tiny LG phone as fast as she typed on a regular keyboard. A few months > > ago, she noticed a painful cramping in her thumbs. (Lately, she has > > been using the iPhone > > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/i/iphone/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier> > > she got for her 15th birthday, and she says texting is slower and less > > painful.) > > > > Peter W. Johnson, an associate professor of environmental and > > occupational health sciences at the University of Washington > > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/university_of_washington/index.html?inline=nyt-org>, > > said it was too early to tell whether this kind of stress is damaging. > > But he added, > > > > “Based on our experiences with computer users, we know intensive > > repetitive use of the upper extremities can lead to musculoskeletal > > disorders, so we have some reason to be concerned that too much > > texting could lead to temporary or permanent damage to the thumbs.” > > > > Annie said that although her school, like most, forbids cellphone use > > in class, with the LG phone she could text by putting it under her > > coat or desk. > > > > Her classmate Ari Kapner said, “You pretend you’re getting something > > out of your backpack.” > > > > Teachers are often oblivious. “It’s a huge issue, and it’s rampant,” > > said Deborah Yager, a high school chemistry teacher in Castro Valley, > > Calif. Ms. Yager recently gave an anonymous survey to 50 of her > > students; most said they texted during class. > > > > “I can’t tell when it’s happening, and there’s nothing we can do about > > it,” she said. “And I’m not going to take the time every day to try to > > police it.” > > > > Dr. Joffe says parents tend to be far less aware of texting than of, > > say, video game playing or general computer use, and the unlimited > > plans often mean that parents stop paying attention to billing > > details. “I talk to parents in the office now,” he said. “I’m quizzing > > them, and no one is thinking about this.” > > > > Still, some parents are starting to take measures. Greg Hardesty, a > > reporter in Lake Forest, Calif., said that late last year his > > 13-year-old daughter, Reina, racked up 14,528 texts in one month. She > > would keep the phone on after going to bed, switching it to vibrate > > and waiting for it to light up and signal an incoming message. > > > > Mr. Hardesty wrote a column about Reina’s texting in his newspaper, > > The Orange County Register, and in the flurry of attention that > > followed, her volume soared to about 24,000 messages. Finally, when > > her grades fell precipitously, her parents confiscated the phone. > > > > Reina’s grades have since improved, and the phone is back in her > > hands, but her text messages are limited to 5,000 per month — and none > > between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. on weekdays. > > > > Yet she said there was an element of hypocrisy in all this: her > > mother, too, is hooked on the cellphone she carries in her purse. > > > > “She should understand a little better, because she’s always on her > > iPhone,” Reina said. “But she’s all like, ‘Oh well, I don’t want you > > texting.’ ” (Her mother, Manako Ihaya, said she saw Reina’s point.) > > Professor Turkle can sympathize. “Teens feel they are being punished > > for behavior in which their parents indulge,” she said. And in what > > she calls a poignant twist, teenagers still need their parents’ > > undivided attention. > > > > “Even though they text 3,500 messages a week, when they walk out of > > their ballet lesson, they’re upset to see their dad in the car on the > > BlackBerry,” she said. “The fantasy of every adolescent is that the > > parent is there, waiting, expectant, completely there for them.” > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > New Email addresses available on Yahoo! > > <http://sg.rd.yahoo.com/aa/mail/domainchoice/mail/signature/*http://mail.promotions.yahoo.com/newdomains/aa/> > > > > Get the Email name you've always wanted on the new @ymail and @rocketmail. > > Hurry before someone else does! > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > > > Ce message entrant est certifié sans virus connu. > > Analyse effectuée par AVG - www.avg.fr > > Version: 8.5.339 / Base de données virale: 270.12.41/2136 - Date: 05/26/09 > > 20:20:00 > > > > > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "mobile-society" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/mobile-society?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
