For Teens, Has Texting Replaced Talking?
I've always known my kids use digital communications gear a lot. But my cellphone bill last month really grabbed my attention.
My son had racked up nearly 2,000 incoming text messages, and had sent nearly as many. That means he was having more than 60 two-way communications via text message every day. Of course, he was out of school for the summer and communicating more with friends from a distance. Nevertheless, I had to wonder how he found time to hold down a summer job and complete a college course in between all that typing with his thumb.
I was even more surprised to learn that my son is normal. Teenagers with cellphones each send and receive 2,272 text messages a month on average, Nielsen Mobile says.
Some experts lament that all that keyboard jabber is making our kids stupid unable to read nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, gestures, posture and other silent signals of mood and attitude. Unlike phones, text messaging doesn't even allow transmission of tone of voice or pauses, says Mark Bauerlein, author of a book called 'The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future.'
States are cracking down on drivers who text, and rightly so. My son doesn't text while driving, and we have discussed the dangers. (This graphic public service announcement, which has recently gone viral on YouTube, highlights just how dangerous texting while driving can be.)
Beyond that, though, I'm not sure I see as much harm as critics of this trend. I've posted before on how I initially tried to curb my kids' texting. But over time, I have seen my son suffer no apparent ill effects (except a sore thumb now and then), and he reaps a big benefit, of easy, continuing contact with many friends. Also, the time he spends texting replaces the hours teens used to spend on the phone; both my kids dislike talking on the phone, and say they really don't need to do so to stay in touch with friends and family.
Does texting make kids stupid? I don't think so. It may make them annoying, when they try to text and talk to you at the same time. And it may make them distracted, when buzzing text messages interrupt efforts to noodle out a calculus problem or finish reading for school.
But I don't see texting harming teens' ability to communicate. My son is as attuned to nonverbal cues as any older members of our family. If anything, I have found him more engaged and easier to communicate with from afar, because he is constantly available via text message and responds with a faithfulness and speed that any mother would find reassuring.
Readers, how has text messaging affected the quality of communication in your family, if at all? Am I too complacent about all the texting?
一直以来，我知道我的孩子们频繁使用数字通信设备。但上个月我的手机帐单还是引起了我的注意。
我的儿子上个月收到了将近2,000条短信息，他也发送了数量相近的短信息。这意味着他每天要通过短信进行60次双向通信。当然，上个月儿子正在放暑假，会更多的和朋友们进行联系。不过，我还是想知道他是如何在这么多的打字活动中保住了暑期工，还完成了大学课程。
更令我惊讶的是，我儿子的情况居然是普遍现象。市场调研公司Nielsen Mobile的数据显示，拥有手机的美国青少年每个月平均要发送和接收2,272条短信息。
一些专家感叹道，这些键盘闲聊正在让我们的孩子变笨，导致他们无法领会诸多非语言线索，例如面部表情、动作、姿势以及其他反映情绪和态度的无声信号。马克?鲍尔伦(Mark Bauerlein)撰有《最蠢的一代：数字时代是如何让年轻美国人变笨并危害到我们的未来》(The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future)一书。他表示，和打电话不同，短信息甚至无法传递语调或停顿。
目前美国各州正在打击开车发短信行为，此举真是明智。我儿子开车的时候不发短信，我们已经就这个问题的危险性进行了讨论。(一则公益广告最近在YouTube网站广泛流传，彰显出了开车发短信是多么危险。)
但除此之外，我不觉得自己像批评人士那样认为这一趋势有多大的危害性。我曾经写到自己一开始是如何试图对孩子们发短信的行为作出限制的。但随着时间的推移，我没发现我儿子遭受了明显的不利影响(除了拇指偶尔发酸)，但他也享受到了与很多朋友保持持续轻松联络的极大便利。此外，他花在短信上的时间也取代了过去青少年褒电话粥的时间，我的孩子们都不喜欢打电话，他们也确实不需要通过电话来和朋友及家人保持联系。
发短信会让孩子们变笨？我不这么认为。也许，当他们一边发短信一边和你说话的时候，可能会让你觉得恼火。收到信息的手机声响可能会让他们分心，影响他们解一道微积分数学题或读完课外阅读材料。
但我不认为发短信会损害孩子的沟通能力。我儿子对非语言暗示的理解能力不逊于我家任何比他年长的人。如果说有什么不同，那就是我发现，他更乐于以及更容易与人远距离沟通，因为随时可以通过短信与他联系到，而且他也会迅速对短信做出回应，这足以令任何母亲感到欣慰。
读者们，短信如何影响了你的家庭沟通质量？还是一点影响也没有？我是不是对短信问题太不在乎了？
关键字:市民英语
生词表:
I've always known my kids use digital communications gear a lot. But my cellphone bill last month really grabbed my attention.
My son had racked up nearly 2,000 incoming text messages, and had sent nearly as many. That means he was having more than 60 two-way communications via text message every day. Of course, he was out of school for the summer and communicating more with friends from a distance. Nevertheless, I had to wonder how he found time to hold down a summer job and complete a college course in between all that typing with his thumb.
I was even more surprised to learn that my son is normal. Teenagers with cellphones each send and receive 2,272 text messages a month on average, Nielsen Mobile says.
Some experts lament that all that keyboard jabber is making our kids stupid unable to read nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, gestures, posture and other silent signals of mood and attitude. Unlike phones, text messaging doesn't even allow transmission of tone of voice or pauses, says Mark Bauerlein, author of a book called 'The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future.'
States are cracking down on drivers who text, and rightly so. My son doesn't text while driving, and we have discussed the dangers. (This graphic public service announcement, which has recently gone viral on YouTube, highlights just how dangerous texting while driving can be.)
Beyond that, though, I'm not sure I see as much harm as critics of this trend. I've posted before on how I initially tried to curb my kids' texting. But over time, I have seen my son suffer no apparent ill effects (except a sore thumb now and then), and he reaps a big benefit, of easy, continuing contact with many friends. Also, the time he spends texting replaces the hours teens used to spend on the phone; both my kids dislike talking on the phone, and say they really don't need to do so to stay in touch with friends and family.
Does texting make kids stupid? I don't think so. It may make them annoying, when they try to text and talk to you at the same time. And it may make them distracted, when buzzing text messages interrupt efforts to noodle out a calculus problem or finish reading for school.
But I don't see texting harming teens' ability to communicate. My son is as attuned to nonverbal cues as any older members of our family. If anything, I have found him more engaged and easier to communicate with from afar, because he is constantly available via text message and responds with a faithfulness and speed that any mother would find reassuring.
Readers, how has text messaging affected the quality of communication in your family, if at all? Am I too complacent about all the texting?
一直以来，我知道我的孩子们频繁使用数字通信设备。但上个月我的手机帐单还是引起了我的注意。
我的儿子上个月收到了将近2,000条短信息，他也发送了数量相近的短信息。这意味着他每天要通过短信进行60次双向通信。当然，上个月儿子正在放暑假，会更多的和朋友们进行联系。不过，我还是想知道他是如何在这么多的打字活动中保住了暑期工，还完成了大学课程。
更令我惊讶的是，我儿子的情况居然是普遍现象。市场调研公司Nielsen Mobile的数据显示，拥有手机的美国青少年每个月平均要发送和接收2,272条短信息。
一些专家感叹道，这些键盘闲聊正在让我们的孩子变笨，导致他们无法领会诸多非语言线索，例如面部表情、动作、姿势以及其他反映情绪和态度的无声信号。马克?鲍尔伦(Mark Bauerlein)撰有《最蠢的一代：数字时代是如何让年轻美国人变笨并危害到我们的未来》(The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future)一书。他表示，和打电话不同，短信息甚至无法传递语调或停顿。
目前美国各州正在打击开车发短信行为，此举真是明智。我儿子开车的时候不发短信，我们已经就这个问题的危险性进行了讨论。(一则公益广告最近在YouTube网站广泛流传，彰显出了开车发短信是多么危险。)
但除此之外，我不觉得自己像批评人士那样认为这一趋势有多大的危害性。我曾经写到自己一开始是如何试图对孩子们发短信的行为作出限制的。但随着时间的推移，我没发现我儿子遭受了明显的不利影响(除了拇指偶尔发酸)，但他也享受到了与很多朋友保持持续轻松联络的极大便利。此外，他花在短信上的时间也取代了过去青少年褒电话粥的时间，我的孩子们都不喜欢打电话，他们也确实不需要通过电话来和朋友及家人保持联系。
发短信会让孩子们变笨？我不这么认为。也许，当他们一边发短信一边和你说话的时候，可能会让你觉得恼火。收到信息的手机声响可能会让他们分心，影响他们解一道微积分数学题或读完课外阅读材料。
但我不认为发短信会损害孩子的沟通能力。我儿子对非语言暗示的理解能力不逊于我家任何比他年长的人。如果说有什么不同，那就是我发现，他更乐于以及更容易与人远距离沟通，因为随时可以通过短信与他联系到，而且他也会迅速对短信做出回应，这足以令任何母亲感到欣慰。
读者们，短信如何影响了你的家庭沟通质量？还是一点影响也没有？我是不是对短信问题太不在乎了？
关键字:市民英语
生词表:
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