Are teens' lives too wired? 'Text me l8ter, LOL!'

By Jamie Heywood

Nvember 8, 2005 | LOL. BRB. TTYL. Don't understand? These are common acronyms (a.k.a. jargon) used by teenagers in the IM, chat, and text message world today. With cell phone usage increasing by the millions and instant messaging (IM) becoming more popular than emailing, according to Amanda Lenhart, research specialist for Pew Internet, teens are becoming "the most technologically advanced people in the world."

So what does that mean? It means that "students have less respect for teachers and rules, and more respect for their cell phones," Larry Huntington, a counselor at Wasatch High School, said. "Teenagers, especially girls, feel like they have to be social butterflies all of the time. They [teenage girls] are paying less attention to their studies and to the rules, and more attention to who kissed who."

Huntington, like many others, views cell phones as a major deterrent to high school student's education. Recently Boston and California public schools have banned cell phones from their school districts. Huntington said teachers feel cell phones are a major distraction in class.

"I about failed two girls while they were taking their driving tests," Huntington said. "They picked up their phone every two seconds and about killed me [in the car] every time."

Debbie Anderson, a mother of two teenagers, said her children are not only paying less attention in class, but not concentrating on their homework. "My daughter will sit on the computer for hours claiming that she's doing homework," Anderson said. "I hear the click of the MSN Messenger go off about eight times a minute." Anderson said her daughter now takes "hours on an assignment that should only take 15 minutes. She just feels like she always has to be in touch, whether it be via cell phone or instant messaging."

Another mother was excited about her children's recent advances in technology. "I know it can be distracting for a teacher," said LeNell Hancock, "but I think it's made my kids able to multi-task much better than I ever could." Hancock said her kids have better writing and reading skills, and IM gets them excited about using the Internet and learning about computers.

But are teenagers really learning how to use computers, or just learning how to chat? Tim Anderson, a computer technician, said teenagers are just learning the lingo.

"If you were to ask a kid if they could research a topic they would just sit and stare, but once you get them in a chat room or instant messaging they act like pros," said Anderson. "If you are a teenager from America and you don't know how to chat, IM, or text, you should be ashamed of yourself. It's a part of our culture."

Because of this new "culture," many feel teenagers have lost the ability to interact face-to-face with others, a characteristic that is so important in today's society. "I have noticed that kids say a lot meaner things to each other through IM and text messaging than they would normally," said Anderson. "In the future are people just going to be meaner to each other?"

According to Marge Eldrige, a student who performed a study on text messaging, students found it difficult to convey humor and sarcasm through text messages and IM. "It wasn't always possible to determine the sender's intent," Eldridge said, making it much easier to get offended.

"Because of these direct and swift means of communication, kids are not advancing socially or physically," Anderson said. Teenagers know that they can just go up to their computer or cell phone and talk to all their friends instead of walking down the street to their friend's house, he said. "They don't know how to handle someone who is angry or upset because you can't read emotions, and they know they don't have to walk anywhere to hear the latest gossip."

Some think that's going a little too far. Jacob Heywood, a high school senior, said "It's not a big deal, I mean, I only IM or text when I want to know the score of the football game when my mom won't let me watch TV."

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