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| Photo by Bradley J. Rayford / Forum |
Chances are that if you have a cell phone, then you have probably text-messaged someone before. For those of you who aren’t on the texting bandwagon, my question to you is, why not? Text messages are, in a lot of ways, more convenient than your traditional conversation. They save time when asking basic questions and it also gives the other person time to think about an answer without having an awkward pause in the conversation. While there are many benefits to text messaging, there are also many downsides to it.
With the invention of text messaging, there is now a new way for people to sexually harass others in the work place, social settings, friendships or any place where you can interact with people. A good example of this was in the recent McIntosh vs. Metro Aluminum Products case in which a woman was awarded $30,000 after her boss made sexual remarks to her through the usage of text messaging.
Texting and driving has become a serious issue nationwide. According to Adcouncil.org, “A texting driver is 23 times more likely to get into a crash with another vehicle than a non-texting driver.” In another recent survey, over 50 percent of high school seniors have texted while driving. It is especially important for young drivers to avoid texting and driving since they are just learning the art of driving and having one more distraction doesn’t help their development. Texting and driving has been outlawed in 39 states so far, including Illinois, and other states aren’t too far behind. Missouri enforces that anyone under 21 years of age is banned from texting and driving.
The main goal is to be safe while texting. Don’t text and drive, don’t “textually” harass people, understand the text lingo and don’t let text messages consume your life.
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