<p>hahahhahahhahahha!</p>
<p>A few months ago my daughter had over 10,000 text messages in a month, might have been more but I will have to look back.</p>
<p>LOL… I think this is the wrong crowd to be asking about the frequency of electronic communications! A year ago, I had to give CC up for LENT!</p>
<p>^^ that’s tough love!</p>
<p>coming from a parent posting on college confidential…</p>
<p>I’m a parent and I wouldn’t be surprised if I got up to 60 texts a day, some days. I find it incredibly convenient. Just came from spring break - I’d text my kids if we were in different locations and needed to coordinate where to meet, I texted my mother who was traveling to make sure she arrived safely, I texted a few friends about various plans … It takes hardly any time, and the “FRENZY” in the title of this thread strikes me as Fox-News-ish in the drama it tries to create where there is no drama to be had.</p>
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You’re a very considerate parent. I love mama and papa RoKr93, but they have called me at some of the WORST times possible when a simple text would have made all the difference…lol.</p>
<p>Having said that, I don’t text 60 times a day and I don’t really like texting. It’s very useful for some things but I prefer to call my friends up. I only text them when I know they’re somewhere where they can’t take a call.</p>
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<p>Well, you do realize that causing you SOME embarassment is in our job description, don’t you? Seriously – check the manual. :p</p>
<p>When our kids were little we set up a code that they could call home and tell us they were not feeling well and could we come get them. That was to let us know that something was off wherever they were and were not comfortable. As they got cell phones, before driving, that turned into texting. When they started driving that code became what looked like a butt dial (but a pre arranged butt dial) and that was our signal to text them that they needed to come home. We also told the kids that they could use us as an excuse why they couldn’t do something and we NEVER talked curfew in front of friends so if they wanted to leave early they could just say “my parents said we had to be home by 10:00” or whatever. Fortunately we never needed those but the kids liked that they had an easy out.</p>
<p>I don’t think 60 texts a day is quite the norm but who knows. I have to wonder how many of the 60 texts were one word answers? </p>
<p>When I was a teen I remember spending “hours” (according to Dad) on the phone talking to friends and my BF. I think it probably takes less time to text then to talk on the phone (which seems to be a lost art…)</p>
<p>I didn’t have a cell phone until the end of high school or texting until college, and I definitely spent 5+ hours on the phone a night when I could get away with it. The texting is much less disruptive and obnoxious. lol.</p>
<p>Maybe the increase from '09 to now has more to do with the proliferation of smart phones and other devices that make texting a lot easier than it was a few years ago. Notice that full words have returned to our lexicon?</p>
<p>Also - why do people think using technology a lot is a teen phenomenon? I’d say hardly anyone under 40 listens to voicemail anymore. It’s just such a hassle to punch all those numbers and wait and listen just to hear someone say “call me” - something you could have figured out when their number popped up.</p>
<p>Texting is quick, quiet, and able to be handled when one is ready to handle it. </p>
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<p>And your parents probably wished the phone had never been invented and that people should write letters. Times change and, frankly, I think you’re being selfish demanding that people interrupt what they’re doing with a loud ring to address you.</p>
<p>Agreed, applejack. SMS messages give the recipient time and convenience to choose when to reply to you. As for 60 a day, that’s nothing. Averaging 250 a day here.</p>
<p>I hate texting. I would much rather converse in person. I don’t know how people can concentrate and read a book when they’re receiving a text every few minutes.</p>
<p>Gosh, it must be great to have so many friends and so many important things that you have to tell these people so instantaneously that you just have to text 60-200 times per day. To be honest, I think it is ridiculous. If you text 40-60 times per day, for example, how much continuous thought and attention can you be giving to any other topic in your life? Kids need to learn to pay attention, not be distracted by 200 LOL and CULater etc messages per day. </p>
<p>I think it is harassment to text your college aged child even 5 times per day, quite frankly. I would be furious if my college aged child was messaging me that often, because it means that they are not listening to or really engaging in what is going on in their immediate environment. I did not need to hear what they are eating, who they are with, what they are wearing, how every single test went, etc. Maybe in the modern era that would be considered ‘neglectful’- but I actually trust my kids to handle most of the every day stuff themselves and prefer to actually have conversations with them about things that can’t be conveyed in a word or two. </p>
<p>Furthermore, where I live people walk down the sidewalks texting and as a result not paying attention to the people near them. I find it socially offensive, am tired of having to be the navigator and have decided to periodically engage in a subtle form of protest by walking right into them and telling them that I am not responsible for ensuring their safety on the sidewalks- should they be able to get their noses out of their phones for long enough to actually communicate. </p>
<p>Just because there are chips and apps that allow us to do all the things that technology does- does not make the outcomes or consequences of the technology necessarily desirable or even pleasant. Quite frankly, I think people are losing the plot on all of it and instead of improving communication, technology is ultimately very isolating.</p>
<p>Wow, robyrm. My parents and I text each other all the time. I’d hardly call 5 text a day “harassment” unless they’re prying into your life and/or you’ve asked them to stop. 5 is nothing. </p>
<p>Today, I had probably a 20 text-long conversation with my parents. They heard on the news that a car was found in the river right outside of my apartment. Which it was. They texted me to make sure everything was OK and we just talked about what we knew. </p>
<p>Trust me, I’m independent. I’ve been independent since I was 16. My parents and I never talk about mundane stuff (like food or whatnot) and yet still manage to text fairly frequently. My dad and I especially like to talk about sports. </p>
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<p>Um… Ok… </p>
<p>Yeah, if you’re an idiot and can’t walk down a sidewalk without walking into people because you’re texting, that’s one thing. However, MOST people that text don’t do that.</p>
<p>Wow, robyrm2, I had no idea what a terrible parent I am – thanks for setting me straight!</p>
<p>We use text to conduct business (often easier than an email or a phone call); for example, today, I texted to let her know that a package was on the way because I know she doesn’t go to campus mail room every day. Last week, I was doing FAFSA and texted to ask about her bank balance. We also usually text back and forth when she’s making flight reservations so we can coordinate dates and times. I guess this all comes under the heading of “harassment.”</p>
<p>And I’m probably “ridiculous” because we do indeed use text to keep in touch. She’ll sometimes text me when an assignment was well-received by a prof, or when she tried a new recipe that the roomies loved. Sometimes she even texts me a photo of a scarf she crocheted or her funny Halloween costume. I might text her if I run into a friend of hers, or to give her a brief update about her ailing grandparents. </p>
<p>If you think this means that she’s not “paying attention” to what’s going on around her, or that she “can’t handle the everyday stuff,” you’re just wrong. Her grades are great and her social life thriving. Apparently, for some kids, it’s possible to have a good college experience AND keep in contact with the parents.</p>
<p>As for “prefer[ring] to actually have conversations with them about things that can’t be conveyed in a word or two” – do you realize that texting does not preclude calling? It’s not either/or. When we want to communicate during the day when we’re all busy, and it’s a topic that doesn’t require in-depth conversation, texting is more convenient. When the topic is more complicated or we just want to hear her voice, we call. </p>
<p>That’s what works for us. If it doesn’t work for you, fine. But I don’t think there’s a need to judge the way other families choose to communicate.</p>
<p>(BTW, your assumption that all text conversations consist of “LOL” and “CULater” demonstrates that you don’t know enough about texting to be making judgments about it.)</p>
<p>Touchy subject, obviously. I guess people really are attached to their phones and to the idea that there really are that many vital things to ‘talk’ about. I think it is great you can text in an emergency… but why not call to make sure your child is okay? Communication is about more than a series of words. Even on a phone call you lose aspects of the communicative experience. The people who walk down the street texting, and unaware of the people around them, are behaving in a manner that has been conditioned into them by years of incomplete communication. Texting has been much more prevalent in Asia for years before it became so ‘important’ in the U.S… I have ample experience to make judgement, LasMa, in spite of your proclamation. </p>
<p>There are lots of good reasons to text. Providing information about changes in plans or such things is a good reason to text. Being communicative is more than providing information. The teens who are texting 100 times per day are doing neither, however, they are just wasting time, in fact. Aren’t they?</p>
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<p>Because … well, actually, I don’t have to justify to you why I chose to text rather than call in that situation. </p>
<p>You seem to think that texting and calling are mutually exclusive. Again, text isn’t the ONLY way we speak to our child; we talk on the phone regularly. Sometimes texting is better, for various reasons. </p>
<p>We have a communication plan that works for our family. I’m not telling you that it must work for yours. But please stop saying that your way is the only correct way.</p>
<p>Actually, I wasn’t talking about ‘you’ at all LasMa…you specifically felt identified and commented that I was unqualified to make a comment. I really could care less, but, invited to review what you have said, I came across this comment of yours. </p>
<p>“RobD, once D and I had a text conversation sitting next to each other on the couch. We were talking about DH behind his back, right in front of his face.”</p>
<p>Yes, you are entitled to communicate any way that you like and you certainly do not have to justify to me. While this sort of behavior might seem to be merely amusing to you, some people might actually think that we should not be encouraging our children to behave this way. Just because texting makes this behavior possible, doesn’t make it right.</p>
<p>Oh, DH knew about it, sorry I didn’t make that clear. But thank you very much for your critique on my parenting.</p>