Texting.

Texting is something that to me and most people my age, is completely natural. Ever since I have had a cell phone it has been part of my communication to others. However it is now common with everyone who has a cell phone--which is literally almost everyone. My mom and dad are even texting now! I love it. However, there are some down sides to texting.

Texting while driving is something that is becoming a very big issue. More and more accidents are due to texting while driving. People say that it is equivilent, if not worse, than driving drunk. In California, my home state, it is illegal. You can't text or talk on the phone while you drive unless you have a Bluetooth. Personally, I think this is a great rule. I am one of the many people that have been involved in a texting accident. Last November I totalled my car because I was texting and didn't stop intime and hit the car in front of me that was basically completely stopped. It was awful. I was luckily not injured and neither was anyone else, but most people usually aren't so lucky. In an article by Lisajoyce Vergara entitled Texting While Driving: A Major No-No! she says "Cell phones are the number one cause of distracted driving accidents in California. And accidents by drivers using handheld cell phones outnumber those driving hands-free by a ratio of something like 15 to one. The difference between hand-held and hands-free is the difference between life and death".

Another harmful thing that comes from texting is Sexting which is when people send nude or semi nude picture messages to other people. This is becoming more and more common and almost 1 in 5 people have sent these before. In some places they are even considering it to be illegal and a form of child pornography. This is definitely an instance where texting can be taken too far and is not appropriate. Here is a news clip of Sexting.


Although those are some of the harmful effects, there are many good things coming from texting. Texting is an easy and fast way of sending messages to people. We can communicate faster and in any situation. If you are in a meeting where you can't step out to make a call, just text someone. This is giving us another chance to communicate with one another and is enhancing our interpersonal relationships. We are able to communicate more often with people and see how people are doing. You can text people even if you aren't that great of friends and build a relationship upon texting conversations. It is still important to have that face to face interaction, but I think texting can be a comfortable way for people to begin the communication process. Also, you can maintain friendships through texting. If a friend is out of state or far away, rather than spending hours talking on the phone to catch up, you can text more often and get updates from them on how they are doing or what's new in their life. Communication is easier and I believe texting has helped interpersonal relationships for the better.