What is it that the New York Times claims is causing teens anxiety, falling grades, repetitive stress injury and sleep deprivation? They claim teens are doing it at school, late at night, at restaurants and while crossing the street.
What is this plague that is taking control of today's youth? They say texting is the cause of all the aforementioned ailments. It may also be altering the way youth grow up and become adults.
Physiologists say that youth in their teen years start to gain independence from their parents as well as growing into their own individual adult. Texting is helping to shape teens as they grow by constantly being connected to their peers and parents.
A simple constant connection or the "always on" keeps teens up at night, constantly texting and it genuinely distracts them for more important things that are going on in their vicinity.
Further texting is taking a serious toll in the class room. "Teachers are often oblivious. It's a huge issue, and it's rampant," said Deborah Yager, a high school chemistry teacher in Castro Valley, Calif. Ms. Yager recently gave an anonymous survey to 50 of her students; most said they texted during class."
Adding to the mental stress is also the physical stress on the body. Rampant texting is much like typing for long periods. "Based on our experiences with computer users, we know intensive repetitive use of the upper extremities can lead to musculoskeletal disorders, so we have some reason to be concerned that too much texting could lead to temporary or permanent damage to the thumbs."
It is still unknown how texting will change the world as the teens grow up. In about ten years today's teens will have graduated college and be out in the professional world. How will all of this change business communication? Who knows, maybe the next major corporate merger will take place on Twitter.
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