Friday, January 7, 2011

Texting Language

These days texting is not just your average language. When texting people use a different kind of language. It is the shortening of many words. The language is filled with abbreviations and acronyms designed to quickly communicate and disguise the conversation that is really going about. Most adults can not understand what is being said so it is easier for teens to talk about things that their parents don't approve of. Their parent could be looking over their shoulder and they can still have a normal conversation while using acronyms and their parent would be clueless.  

Now older people and parents are starting to use the acronyms because it sometimes takes forever for an adult to text a long message and it makes it easier to use abbreviations. Acronyms and abbreviations are also used in email, twitter, facebook, everywhere you can imagine.When using them you should make sure that you know what they mean so you save yourself embarassment of thinking they mean something else. 

Some of the most famous acronyms and abbreviations used are :
-BRB – Be right back
-IDK – I don’t know
-L8R – Later
-LOL – Laugh out loud
-OMG – Oh my God!
-TBA – To be announced
-XOXO – Hugs and kisses

-TTYL – Talk to you later
-BC – Because
-BTW – By the Way
-ILY – I Love You
-JK – Just Kidding

Dangers of Sexting

Today sexting has lead to felon charges, lawsuits, and even suicide among teenagers. This is a dangerous action and has many dangers. This has become a common action among teenagers. 39 percent of surveyed teenagers said they have sent sexually suggested messages over a cellphone or internet. 48 percent say they have recieved sexually suggested messages and 20 percent say that have sent a nude picture. There is no definate punishment for sexting. The possession, transferring and creation of the suggestive pictures do carry prison terms.  When pictures are sent to one person they could be sent to everyone. Then everyone sees it and the person that created it suffers humiliation in school.


Many people consider the punishments of texting to be to harsh. Sexting is a new thing and there are no laws against it. The only law out there is the transferring of child pornography. Being convicted of any of these crimes can ruin your life and trash your reputation. Many kids have heard of problems like this in their school even if it did not happen to them. When you engage in sexting and get caught you can be charged as a sex offender and this effects your whole life.  


There is also something called sextortion, or threats of making the pictures public.  Some people are hacking into cell phone records or computers, obtaining photos that were not even sent to them and threatening to make them public.  There are many cases involving sextortion all over the country. The internet is also starting to take part in sexting due to webcams and all sort of video chat programs. Most teens have partaken in any kind of sexting. 

This is a very serious issue and needs to be taken care of as soon as possible. Many people can ruin their lives. It should not be done and it needs to be stopped. This is a more important subject than people think

Here is CBS news video on the Dangers Of Sexting.
.http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4723169n

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The History of Texting

Text messaging is considered the fastest and most reliable means of communication.  Texting is the process of sending short messages usually 160 characters from a mobile phone. Text messaging technology uses an SMS gateway in order to hook up any mobile SMS service to an existing instant message service, Word Wide Web, PDA devices, personal computers as well as to any landline phone. Texting was first known as Short message service or SMS.


According to some phone companies, the first text message was sent in 1989 by Edward Lantz. He had sent a text message through a motorola beeper. At first text messaging was not very popular when it first arrived but now is the most commonly used service for communication. The year 2000 is when the use of text messaging increased. 


Today there are many phone services that offer text messaging and many people that use it. Teenagers are what take up most of the texting since they are addicted to it. Now older humans are starting to use texting once they know how to use their cell phone. Texting is among all people and has become very popular in the world today. 

Dangers of Texting and Walking

There are many dangers arising from texting. One of them being walking. Many people these days walk and text and don't pay attention to where they are walking. They could be walking across the street and looking down at their phone while a car is coming. They can get severely injured, or it can even cause death. Slightly more than 1,000 pedestrians visited emergency rooms in 2008 because they got distracted, tripped and fell or ran into something while using a cell phone to talk or text. This number had doubled since 2007. 

There are reports of concussions, sprained ankles, and broken limbs. Also, there are many injuries that do not even report to the emergency room. Mobile phone texting uses up so much brainpower that people don't see one in five potential hazards as they walk down pavement. One in ten people experience an accident with texting and walking. Some states are looking into banning texting and walking. If you were to be caught then you would be charged a 25 dollar fine and would be a misdemeanor. This act can be just as dangerous as texting and driving. 


People need to be aware of their surroundings and themselves. The next time you think about text-walking, you may want to consider waiting until you come to a stop and consider this: the poles on campus are not cushioned, the sidewalk is painful and walking into a window, door or tree can cause embarrassment and potential ridicule from all your friends.

Is it worth it?
      
 Video of Texting and Walking

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Texting Takes a Toll on Teenagers

Texting is taking over Teens lives.


They do it everywhere they go, crossing a busy street, late at night, classrooms, driving. Its everywhere. Teens text so much that sometimes their thumbs start to hurt. Many people are starting to worry about the consequences of texting so much. Texting leads to failing grades, anxiety, distraction in school and sleep deprivation. Teenagers these days send over 100 texts per day. Texting is taking over the communication world and some people only text. Teens tend to anwser and send texts late at night which would cause sleep issues when already there are sleep issues with this generation so the issues would worsen. 



Teenagers are expected to break free from their parents when they reach adulthood. But, If technology becomes more advanced as it is now and staying in touch gets easier and easier then it is harder to break free from their parents. When teens are in a state of thought and someone texts them they have the urge to text back right away. This causes them to lose their thought.  Of course texting can be very helpful in the world but also harmful. It offers companionship and also promises to stay connected to people but, on the other hand it makes people feel frightened or over exposed. 



Texting can also cause thumb problems. Some teens have some phones which they type on as fast as they type on a keyboard. This can cause many problems. Texting should be slow which would cause less pain. Texting could cause arthritis in the thumbs and cramping. Texting is advancing and is causing harm to teenagers lives.