Text Messaging
To the Pretty Girl Texting in the Car Next to Me
Dear Pretty Girl: I saw you today as I sat idling at a red light. You were in the blue Prius, and…
To Touch or not to Touch?: That is the Question
My son’s 11th birthday is fast approaching. He has not asked for a cell phone, but he has asked for an iPod Touch. In my mind, this device brings its own set of problems. It’s expensive. It requires Wi-Fi to send text — which is not always available. I worry about his grammar deteriorating with all the stoooopid abbreviations. He is only just beginning to learn the nuances of conventional grammar, and texting interferes with all of that. Texting will also open him up to the no-so wonderful world of cyber-bullying. Then again, having an iPod Touch would hold all his music and his old first generation Nano has long been maxed out. He could download free Apps and purchase some with his own money.
And it is the only thing he wants for his birthday….
Stealth-Mode Purse Texters: OMG!
Some people will give me their best Darwinian argument: Students who honestly pay attention will do well on their tests and papers and end up doing better in life then those who are screwing around with their cell phones in class, so let the texters text and grow up to be ditch-diggers. I’m sorry, but I just can’t buy into that argument: Not at the college level and not at the high school or middle school levels either. And my reasons only partially have to do with concern over future skills. I’m genuinely concerned with civility and respect: Two other important values Americans seem to be eagerly flushing down the toilet….