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Negative Effects of Text Messaging & Social Media

By: Kaitlin Tuohy

+Text Messages

A text message can be described as a structure of words that are sent from one cellular network/phone to another, whether the words are often shortened. (Dictionary.com)

Text messages have become some of the main ways of communication in the world today, as people can easily send a message in a few moments without having to see the person face to face or talking to them.

This is an extremely popular phenomenon with teenagers today, as they feel that they need to be connected with friends at all times.

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Text Messages to a Phone

This is what an average teenager phone looks like, as they are attempting to make plans or just having general conversation.

+Daily Life

Teenagers and college students find it easy to talk to one another in everyday life. They are able to connect with friends that they may not see as often.

It has become a problem that during school teachers are constantly reminding students that they need to put away their phones and pay attention during class.

+Negative Aspects of Text Messaging

Text messages have their benefits, but also have negative aspects that can be harmful.

With everyone feeling the need to be extremely connected to their phones today, they often have issues if they do not have their phone with them.

Teenagers are having trouble focusing in school and have even been facing problems focusing in everyday life as they feel the need to be attached to their phone 24/7.

+School & Text Messaging

Students today feel that they can often multi-task while doing school work, talking to friends online, and texting.

They do not see that this is affecting their school performance when they do not devote the time to study and focus on their homework for a certain amount of time without constantly being in touch with their friends.

Parents have tried to limit the time that their children can limit their cellular devices, but it is becoming harder as they technology is continuing to grow.

+Text Messaging & School (cont.)

Constant text messaging has become a concern to doctors & psychologists as they fear that constantly texting is leading to the downfall in school.

Grades, performance, and stress are some of the concerns as teenagers are often putting off projects until the last minute in order to complete them. This is leading to not as good of quality in their projects are worse and they are often unable to complete them fully.

+Text Messaging Affects on Society

It is found that most of the time that students English is beginning to decline as they use a completely different language.

Words are often becoming abbreviated, which translate to them not being used properly during school.

Teenagers often sit there and have a conversation through cell phones, rather than talking in person, even when they are close together.

Plans are now all made over a text message, rather than talking in person or on the phone.

+Real Life Scenarios

From a study done by MSNBC, it was found that over 6 hours a day are spent online or on a cell phone per day, especially teenagers and college students.

I created a survey and asked people how much time they spend on electronics a day and the results yielded about 3 hours or more.

Out of these three hours, most of the time was spent on Twitter, Facebook, and Social Networking Sites.

This was all college students and since they live in such close quarters with friends, it was found that they still spend a good amount of time interacting with others.

+Social Media

Social Media is defined as Web sites and other online means of communication that are used by large groups of people to share information and to develop social and professional contacts. (Dictionary.com)

These would include: Facebook, Twitter, Dating Services, etc.

+Issues with Social Networking

Social networking sites lead to less face-to-face interaction and more talking over a computer.

It is often that teenagers do not always realize that what they post on the Internet will be there even when they delete it.

People may use false names in order to try and talk to people that might be younger than them.

Companies are able to track down people’s profiles, even after they are deleted, to see the kind of lifestyle that they live.

+Cyber bullying

While there is such a high internet use, people often a too scared to say something in person, now might use the internet.

It is often that they pick on people that they know will be affected by this or they know that they can bring down.

While hiding behind a computer, they are able to use a false identity to pretend to be someone different.

Through Twitter and Facebook, people say negative and hurtful things that bring others down.

+Work Cited

http://borderzine.com/2009/10/negative-aspects-of-text-messaging/

http://americansocietytoday.blogspot.com/2011/03/study-of-effects-of-texting-and-social.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39890248/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/

http://www.bukisa.com/articles/102557_text-messaging-is-it-having-a-negative-impact-on-communication

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/26/health/26teen.html

http://socialnetworking.procon.org/#pro_con