from Micah SittigHas everyone read Texting May Be Taking a Toll in the NYTimes already? Did it kind of freak you out? American teenagers are sending out and receiving (on average) about 80 texts a day - almost double from the year before.
An older item from the CBBC Newsroom said in 2002 that kids' thumbs are getting bigger and stronger. Some young people are even using their thumbs to ring doorbells or point. Motorola calls them the 'thumb generation.'
These are pretty significant changes in thumbs and in personal accessibility! NYTimes points out that the physiological, physical, and psychological effects of this constant connection to peers and parents using the upper extremeties is not fully known.
I have considered my lifestyle as it relates to technology pretty close with teenagers, as it wasn't that long ago that I graduated from high school and only 2 years ago that I graduated from college. Yet the more I read about modern teens tech habbits...it seems absolutely unrelatable.
I shut my cell off. I don't look at it for entire weekends sometimes. It's acceptable by my family and friends for me to go off the grid sometimes. Doesn't seem like it is for these teens.
This is a significant change and must absolutely be considered by libraries providing teen services. What do you all think about this?
5 comments:
This is crazy, and really interesting. I can't believe our thumbs are evolving so quickly. People are pathetically addicted to their phones. (I just need mine until Carol and I have a place together) haha
whoa! I just recently (like a two weeks ago) got text messaging for the first time, and its really weird to me, it always has been, its a middle ground of talking that feels uncomfortable to me... but apparently not to teens, holy geez.
Perhaps the library can use one of those automated text services for a lot of their services and new acquisitions and maybe if the book on hold becomes available. Also it could be used for voting? You could maybe do an activity trying to make some ASCII art, who knows.
Whoa, I hadn't heard thumbs were actually getting BIGGER! Crazy.
Okay, gorgeous baby. Thanks for coming by Color Online. And I will speak to the actual topic but I'm rushing for work at the moment. :-)
80 texts a day is insane. on the bright side, maybe we'll see thumb piano orchestras?
Post a Comment