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The Text-Generation

Pew Internet stated that the number of text messages sent monthly

in the U.S. exploded from

14 billion in 2000 to 188 billion in 2010.5

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Americans ages 18-29 send and receive an average of nearly

88 text messages per day5

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So many people are connected at all times to smartphones, society becomes a

“gadget haze”6.

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Each of us is in our

own bubble , furiously

connected to

keyboards and tiny touch

screens.2

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People no longer talk to each other,

even if they are in the same room.4 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blonde_girls_texting.jpg

Technology-enabled, we are able to be with one another, and also elsewhere:

alone together.2

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How well we negotiate electronic communication in our personal relationships can

make or break

them.2

~ Dr. Sherry Turkle

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Willing to dispense with people altogether.

"If they insist on only texting, they're not my kind of person

anyway.” 1

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To get these, we ask simpler questions; dumb down our communications,

even on the most important matters. 2

When we communicate on our digital devices, we expect fast responses.

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The fear is that more of us are

losing our ability to have, or are avoiding,

traditional face-to-face conversations that are vital in the

workplace and personal relationships.7

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As a society, we are

becoming

when it comes

to reading facial

expressions and body

language. 5

functional illiterates

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These are cues that you lose when you can't see or hear

someone, or when you're distracted, even in

person, by a gadget.7

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“I don’t call or stop by to talk, I don’t want to be interrupted.

I’d rather just do things on my BlackBerry”. 2 http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6148/6004509953_195cba754f_o.jpg

“Email and texting meant a conversation I could control…

I get to say exactly what I want,

exactly when I want to say it.” 5

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We use technology to keep one another at distances we can control:

not too close, not too far, just right. j

The Goldilocks effect. 2

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Today many people with cell phones prefer texting over a phone call.

From Pew Internet & American Life Project7

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"We loathe having crucial conversations. They make us

PARALYZED and we do what we can to avoid them.” 7

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Electronic communication will create

less face-to-face conversations.

Future generations will be more comfortable texting their friends than talking to them in person. 6

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We are tempted to think that our

little “sips”

big gulp

of real conversation. 2

of online connection add up to

a

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Some communication experts say

“the PROBLEM is that the virtual conversation

ISN'T PARTICULARLY DEEP” 7

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That’s a WARNING SIGN that we are giving in to our

techno-fetishes,and putting more faith in them than in our own real-world concerns.6

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our current situation, our current surroundings

and the people we spend time with? 6

What long-term effects will occur by devaluing

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children with cell phones often won’t make friends with

other children who don’t have cell phones. 6

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because of cell phone usage. 6

had lost a relationship or job

7% of students

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Works Cited1. He Texts, She Tweets—Are They E-Compatible? By Elizabeth Bernstein. The Wall Street Journal. July 2012.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304708604577502672286303452.html2. The Flight From Conversation. Sherry Turkle. The New York Times. April 2012.http

://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/opinion/sunday/the-flight-from-conversation.html?pagewanted=all&_r=03. New technological devices lead to decline in social skillshttp

://www.universitychronicle.net/index.php/2011/02/13/new-technological-devices-lead-to-decline-in-social-skills/

4. Texting affects communication skillshttp://www.kent.k12.md.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=555:texting-affects-communication-skills&catid=54:superintendent&Itemid=188

5. We never talk any more: The problem with text messaginghttp://www.cnn.com/2012/08/31/tech/mobile/problem-text-messaging-oms

6. How Cell Phones Are Killing Face-to-Face Interactions http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2007/10/how-cell-phones-are-killing-face-to-face-interactions295

7. Text Messaging: Is Texting Ruining The Art Of Conversation?http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/03/text-messaging-texting-conversation_n_1566408.html

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Images

All images used are from Google using the Advanced Image Search, with usage rights set

to: Free to use, share or modify.

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