As time has evolved, the use of phones have become more and more popular. Dinners are seen to have less talking and more usage of phones and classroom time is being interrupted by constant phone vibrations and notifications. The convenience of texting and of having a cellphone is great. There are many pros to texting and the advancement that it has brought to the world of communication, but do the cons outweigh the pros. Texting is also seen to be having a negative impact on society through psychologists and medically.

How many people are texting? First we must examine our window of people we’re talking about that are being impacted by texting. According to The Pew Research Center, eighty three percent of americans use cellphones and the most avid users being young adults from the age of 16-24. That percentage is a huge number and is consequently increasing due to the demand for it in all areas of life. Therefore this also means that there is an increase of cons that come from texting.

Cons:

Relationship Issues-

In the Huffington Post, an article was found on the impact that texting has on relationships. It has been identified by scientists that texting can cut off that face-to-face confrontation which leads to limited communication. The impact effected specifically long-term, serious relationships. One study done at Brigham Young University studied the texting habits of 276 adults between the ages of 18 and 25. Thirty-eight percent were in a serious relationship, forty-six percent were engaged and sixteen percent were married.The 276 adults had to fill out surveys on technology usage and the stability of their relationships. “The researchers found that using text messages as a way to apologize, settle disagreements or make decisions was associated with lower relationship quality for women. For men, lower relationship quality was correlated with texting too frequently.” The observational results from this study demonstrated that texting as the central form of communication led to poorer relationships which suffered a lot of damage through fighting and arguments.

“Text neck” & other bodily harms-

Aside from the relationship portion of the cons, there are many medically impacts that come from texting. One of them is referred to as text neck. According to Dr. Steven Shoshany in spine-health.com, text neck is a “term used to describe the injuries and pain sustained from looking down at wireless devices for too long. The symptoms associated with text neck are:

• chronic headaches
• upper back pain
• shoulder pain
• neck pain
• increased curvature of the spine.”

Text neck is becoming more visible since more people are using their phones for longer periods throughout the day. On average, an adult’s head weighs about ten to twelve pounds and when the neck is looking down at about a 60 degree angle, it is seen to have a force to make it weigh about sixty pounds. This came from a study done by a spine specialist named Dr. Kenneth K Hansard.The study that they performed and the population of the study was not given but the results showed a correlation between texting and having text neck. Text neck is not something that happens over time but is looked at to be something that evolves over the restraining of the neck/spine. Text neck is cumulative and has an effect on stress and the degeneration of the spine according to the same study.

Communication Skills-

Texting is seen to do the obvious which is refraining from having to call or meet up due to its easy convenience. Texting cuts down on that face to face confrontation and allows for improper use of language, slang words, and small unclear messages to relay a point. Scientists are worrying that texting is becoming a method of communication that young adults simply rely on therefore restraining from other forms of communication. A Rutgers sociologists suggests that back in the day e-mailing and phone calls were also seen negatively but people just naturally adjusted to it, but she sees texting as a bigger negative issue than the simple phone calls or e-mails. Her thoughts of the issue are given in one article; “…they’re engaging in efficient and quick communication…Young people might not have a real sense of how to read emotion in others, or how to display emotion. And emoticon or a little smiley face doesn’t really convey joy versus minor happiness – and I think that might lead to a lack of empathy – if you don’t understand how someone’s feeling you can’t really empathize with them – that’s one potential problem.” The doctor suggests that texting is leading to too much convenience. People are expecting an answer as soon as they respond to a message which is not like the real world. Not everything is going to come back quick and be super convenient. Studies were not found on this topic but it “makes sense.”

These cons can be viewed as not enough information to support the fact that texting is bad and change people’s views but is something to be aware and pre cautious of. I understand the this information is vague and an exact answer with concrete studies are not exactly found but its interesting to see that there is a bad to every good/convenient thing. Therefore we should be aware of our communication skills and try to refrain from using improper language use.

Read More: Experts Say Too Much Texting Is Dangerous – Teens and Technology[SERIES] | http://nj1015.com/experts-say-too-much-texting-is-dangerous-series/?trackback=tsmclip