Concerns grow regarding students text messaging

Several years ago, school teachers had to constantly watch for students who were trying to pass notes in class.

However, today's teachers are dealing with a new trend in note passing. Text messaging is quickly becoming the most popular form of communication among students in today's schools.

According to Fort Scott High School Assistant Principal Todd Ferguson, even though the high school has a policy prohibiting the use of cell phones during class time, some students break the rule.

For instance, FSHS teacher Patty LaRoche said, she has caught some of her students typing text messages during class time. Since young people spend a great amount of time texting, they are able to send messages without looking at their phones. This makes it easier, LaRoche said, for her students to complete this activity in class without being caught. Sometimes the female students will have their hands inside their purses, and there have been several times that LaRoche has caught students with hands in shirt pockets. In both cases, the students were texting on their phones.

According to a mobile marketing tool, Punchkick Interactive, www.punchkickinteractive.com, there are approximately 1.8 billion people who text message on a regular basis. In 2007, throughout the United States, about 300 billion text messages were sent using cell phones. Out of the people who actively text message, 62 percent said they use text messaging to communicate with their friends.

Communicating through text messaging, LaRoche said, could have negative effects on students' interpersonal communication skills. After visiting with several employers, LaRoche said she discovered these employers were having a difficult time finding young people to employ that have the interpersonal communication skills needed to be successful in retaining a job.

LaRoche said because students would rather text their friends then have a face to face conversation with them, they are not able to include emotions and non-verbal expressions in their conversations. Agreeing with LaRoche, Fort Scott Middle School teacher Sally Cullor said the lack of communication caused by too many text message conversation can hinder a student's ability to communicate. In fact, both Cullor and LaRoche said there have been times they have witnessed students texting their friends who are in the same room as them. The students, LaRoche said, claimed it is easier to text their friends than to have an actual conversation with them.

According to the Associated Content, www.associatedcontent.com, using text messaging may prevent teens from developing much needed emotional and psychological skills.

"The complications with text messaging, and instant messaging, involve many in terms of emotional and psychological health. Because feelings and emotions are difficult to express on text and instant messaging, your teen may fail to develop these levels of expression accurately ...," Associated Content said.

One local textor, Amanda Dickerson, 21, said she sends text messages all day long each day of the week. Estimating that she sends more than 1,000 text messages everyday. When asked if she ever text messages friends who are in the same room, Dickerson said, sometimes its easier to communicate with friends who are in the same vicinity by texting because she can tell someone something in a text message without everyone else in the room listening in. Dickerson said she would rather send text messages than talk on the phone with her friends.

"'Cause it's easier and faster to text than to talk on the phone," Dickerson said.

Dickerson said when she was in school, she would often text message her friends while she was in class. She attempted to hide this activity, but sometimes her teachers would discover what she was doing and threaten to take her phone if she did not quit.

Admitting that text messaging affects her ability to communicate face to face sometimes because she would rather pay attention to her phone than communicate with people in person, Dickerson said she has caught herself ignoring people who are in the same room, so she can send messages by text. When asked if her over-use of text messaging has affected any of her relationships, she said, "No, they all know my phone's my life. I'd die without my cell phone."