Because of the internet, information is instantaneous and readily available. Communication has been upgraded from the telephone , to cell phones, to now text messaging. Texting allows people to send short messages that don't require instant response.
But is all this technology good for communication? Just as the meaning can get lost in email messages , so too can text messages and would not be practical for business other than to notify a college of someones whereabouts or a quick message to ask a colleague a question. One of the bigger problems is how much today's youth uses texting to communicate. The younger generation spends very little time reading and enjoying other pleasures in life and instead are busy texting or playing video games. The long term affects are causing teens to fall behind in their language and literacy skills. "According to the results of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s most recent Program for International Student Assessment, the gap in reading ability between the 15-year-olds in the Shanghai district of China and those in the United States is now as big as the gap between the U.S. and Serbia or Chile"(Fergusson2011).
What books are on your kids shelves and how much time do they spend reading even just a newspaper. Too of a good thing can be bad and the case of our fast pace lives, technology can actually work against us and development of our youth.
Works Cited
Ferguson, Niall. "Texting Makes U Stupid." The Daily Beast. 11 Sept. 2011. Web. 10 Apr. 2012. <http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/09/11/how-will-today-s-texting-teenagers-compete.html>.
Shelly, Gary B., H. Albert Napier, and Ollie N. Rivers. Discovering the Internet:Complete Concepts and Techniques. 3rd ed. Boston, Mass: Course Technology/Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.
Images Cited
Children's Hospital Of LA
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