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Apparently you're not a teenage girl. And from the looks of your username, not a girl at all.
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@Mr_D: Gender doesn't matter... I had a friend who racked up a $400 dollar bill from AT&T once just from texting alone back in high school.
I can't wait to see the musculo-skeletal problems developed by persons who do this... We're essentially going to have an entire generation of persons with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
That's one message every two minutes for each waking hour of a 30 day month.
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@edebaby:
Yeah, I come up with 3 minutes too.
That being said. How is that even possible? That's texting 1 text a minute for 8 hours straight, 7 days a week. Kind of like a full time job with overtime.
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@LuzioFantazmic: there's also a good chance that she sends a single text to multiple recipients
she probably also forwards the \"does jesus love you? forward this to everyone in your phone book or you will go to hell\" messages.
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@3eyes: We are talking about the average frequency, not the spread. And its not hard to squeeze in a number of texts in a minute.
My sister has done this, she averages around 10,000 a month.
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I don't have a problem with lots of text messaging but the only probably I do have is if they're text messaging this much when they should be doing other things - like paying attention in school, engaging in EC activities, doing homework, or God forbid actually hanging out with friends face-to-face.
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@Vanilla5: Meh, in high school I didn't have texting and I still wasn't paying any attention in school.
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Well, the had the unlimited plan, so that makes this a whole heap of a lot less interesting.
I think the lessons to be learned here are the same as in the last time this exact same tale was told every month for the past few months on Consumerist, Gizmodo, and Fark:
1) Kids need to play outside more like we all did \"back in the day\".
2) Parents need to put the brakes on absurdly obsessive text messaging.
3) We need to vote with our \"dollar\" and stop commenting on this story. (Errr, starting with the next guy after me... ;) ).
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@GuinevereRucker: I'm gonna kick this can down the street and go down to the river. Mikey said there's a dead body down there.
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I do maybe 10 a day at the most, I can't imagine doing that many. Just fricken call the person if it's not a quick \"meet you there\" or something.
That must have taken a lot of time. Maybe when we're all flying around like the Jetsons, we'll have the technology whereby one can press far fewer keys and communicate in real-time audio instead of text!
Oh, wait...
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I don't understand how one could possibly text this much and get any quality conversation...you're basically spending most of your time reading a text which probably consists of \"lolz\" and \"omg\" and they could be doing much more productive things...maybe like seeing your friends and having a face to face conversation instead, or doing homework.
I average about 190 texts a month, receiving and going. But that's cause I purposely only signed up for the 200 limit plan.
I like texting, I think it's really useful. But like anything else in life...moderation is key.
Our teenager managed to double our phone bills just by texting ME from his separate phone plan. He texts his friends far more than he texts his mom. He is probably in those high numbers.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-871030-100x100.png\")
good god! i text a fair amount and I still use maybe only 500 a month! sometimes i do hit the 1000 mark (i have unlimited) but it's rare...
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-269964-100x100.png\")
14 thousand may be a lot, but when you compare it to Instant Messaging it doesn't seem to bad. I text a fair bit and its in the couple hundred a month range. There have been months when I've passed a thousand easily and still was working full time. My only question is about how she doesn't get caught texting in school.
@pecan 3.14159265 I've had full-on conversations via text before, usually while waiting in line somewhere, and I did it a LOT on the bus, or when I'm watching something on TV at the same time. If you have a QWERTY keyboard, you can type really fast and accuratley. I even (usually) use commas and \"don't\" and \"won't\" (not \"dont\" or \"wont\")! Heck, I'll even use the occasional semi-colon!
Before I had a QWERTY keyboard, I got really fast with predictive text.
It's just another form of typing. I can have full-on conversations here, why couldn't I via text?
That said, 15k is still a lot of fucking texts!
@nakedscience: Well these are teens...they're probably not discussing renaissance art. I've had great conversations via text as well, it's just that she was juggling conversations with four people and racked up 14,000 + in one month! My point (perhaps made unclearly) was that texting so much and to so many people at once probably degrades the quality of conversation. I'm looking for a phone with the full qwerty board. I look at my little chocolate (I hate it) and grumble because it's a slider (terrible if you have gloves on) and it takes so much effort to tap out a message. I get impatient. Need qwerty.
@pecan 3.14159265: Welcome to the IM generation. Sometime between highschool and second year in college, I discovered an ability to switch back and forth between one programming assignment, 4 conversations (not related to the assignment), and the mandatory Matrix/LOTR/Star Wars running in the background in the dead of the night. And apparently, I was still just as productive (if you consider the timeliness, quality of the assignment and grades to be the yardstick).
I used to run up 7500+ msgs every month for nearly 6 months (thats when 3 of my friends changed carriers and we all had to quit cold turkey) [I had an unlimited plan ofcourse]. All this in addition to IMs, though we had dialup, so i was online only 2 hours a day. For a guy, thats a lot.
Heres the clincher... I had the Nokia 3310.. so essentially I had to empty by inbox every 20 msgs. I was so l33t at it i could even send back gramatically correct replies at rapidfire rate while looking out of the window of a moving bus.
On the down side, I can no longer watch a movie/show without pausing, checking mails, looking for IMs and \"stumbling\" twice. Good news is that I havent texted in several months now ;)
@Lucifer_Cat: Agreed. Texting can easily be used for serious, valid conversations now. I've used as much as 13,000 per month, and conversation quality does not suffer. It has even gotten to the point where I text (with predictive software) faster than I type, and I can easily fire out a text message at rapid speeds while maintaining a good face-to-face conversation and keeping eye contact. Granted, I have better manners than to text message while speaking to someone who is not a peer or when the conversation is serious, and I most definitely do not text message any time when another task needs my full attention (work, writing an important essay)-both things I believe my generation needs to learn to do.
What the hell is wrong with this girl's father. \"No texting after dinner\"? What the heck kind of parenting is that.
This kid is obsessive and I'd dare say may have serious mental issues if she's got her head buried in text messaging all day every day. That is not healthy and this moron father should have the backbone to take her phone away.
@CaptainCynic: You sure know a lot about this person from reading one article. I'm sure you're using your expertise as a licensed diagnostician to tell that she's got serious mental issues and obsessive disorders... from a web article.
I'd bet someone could tell all kinds of things about your life from a couple hundred word description from the New York Post...
\"can type really fast and accurately\"
Except, if you can't spell. IRONY.
@nakedscience: You just learned that word from me yesterday. Irony...bet you couldn't wait to use that one.
The sad thing is the amount of actual conversation with any meaning or relevance probably would have amounted to 10 minutes between the four of them. Maybe her parents should let her have a sleepover once a month and the rest of the time she can do something worthwhile.
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Reina had a karaoke birthday party, and while other people were singing, she was texting her best friend sitting right next to her.
What good reason can anyone have for not simply just talking to their friend when they're right next to them. I think we're creating a generation of purposely anti-social people.
@squinko: @Lucifer_Cat: Hmm I can recount a number of similar situations, and I think it's pretty safe to say that the texting-next-to-you thing is done for two reasons:
1) The novelty of it
2) To keep what you're talking about hush
Both of which are valid.
I really don't understand the issue with text messaging so much. When older generations were in their teens, they talked on the phone a whole lot. It doesn't mean they have an inactive tangible social life, or that they're antisocial, just that they express their social behavior in different ways than parents. That said, everything should be taken in moderation and I think it's definitely right to say that kids who text message as much as this one need to be careful not to let it interfere with the rest of their lives. But, so long as there's not interference, I don't see a problem with it.
@squinko: heh heh heh, i remember, when free msging was first introduced in india, two of my cousins were sitting on the same couch, and texting back and forth. My aunt was in the kitchen and she was like \"why are the girls so silent for so long? something is wrong.\" She totally flipped her lid when she came out to check and found them texting from each others lap.
Though since then, she has come to appreciate the relative calm in the house.
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@squinko: I don't really get how that's anti-social. It sounds like an efficient means of communication in a particularly loud (assuming sans context because of every karaoke party I've been to) environment.
@Pink Puppet: You can do what everyone else does when they go to a concert or are in any other noisy situation: yell. Or they could always go somewhere that's quieter and speak there. I just think it's incredibly silly (and yes, anti-social) to type to someone that is sitting right next to you. Unless of course you're talking about someone behind they're back, then it's ok. (j/k)
CaptainCynic... I don't know. Just because she texts a lot doesn't mean she has \"serious mental issues.\" That's a bit harsh. She's just a teeneage girl. Some teenage girls talk on the phone a looooot. Now it's text messaging.
I used to IM my ex bf when we lived together and were in the same room. I am not anti-social....
@nakedscience: It seems anti-social to me that someone would rather type out a message than just speak to the person. I can understand quick notes, but what's the point of texting someone over the course of a few hours when you could just call them and actually speak to them instead?
@squinko: My boyfriend and I IM each other all day; I'm at work, he's at home. He relays information about the kids, and we send each other interesting links and so on. It doesn't disrupt what either of us are doing at the time or the people around me, and doesn't require the whole phone thing; the greetings, niceties and signoff that go with a phone call. It's not antisocial at all, just convenient.
@squinko: I think it's a personal preference - a text conversation could be interrupted without the formality of \"gotta go, bye, call you later\".
I look at it like being able to drop a post-it note on them where ever they are. \"Please pick up Vodka, skittles and ammo on the way over. Thanks Mom\"
@squinko: One of my friends lives in a different state and there are laws against being on the phone or texting while driving, but we get into slightly lengthy conversations if she's at home or waiting for a class and I'm on the bus or metro. It can happen. We talk about what's going on in our lives, but save the really in-depth stuff for the internet...cause you can type more than 160 characters at a time.
Doesn't she attend this thing called school?
@CandyRaver: I'm sure she does. Have you been in a classroom lately? Try finding one where there aren't at least two people at all time trying to hide their cell phone and text while class is in session. Hell, I'm a cashier at a grocery store, and there are a couple baggers who seem to always be texting between orders (or during, if they're daring enough).
I think text messaging is nice, because it's easier than communicating through voicemail. But when it becomes something that you're doing for hours straight while you're disregarding your teachers or bosses (or even worse, driving (yes, I've seen it happen)), it's time to put it away.
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Back in my teenaged days I did a few thousand a month with my boyfriend at the time. My parents were really concerned once when it reached nearly 4,000. \"But Mom! He's moved out of state! And we're in loooove!\" Naturally we broke up a couple weeks later. I feel you though my teenaged friend!
These days, I max out at 200 but mostly because my friends are cheap.
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Considering that they don't have a mammoth bill they're trying to fight, why would the father publicize this? Is he trying to get a better reporting gig?
This is sad. Parents should want people to think better of their children and themselves than to put insanity like this in print. How much time could he spend with his daughter?
@KyleOrton: I think every adult had that teen phase in which he/she did not want to be anywhere near their parents in any kind of social setting. I like my parents, and we're all adults now so it's nice to go to lunch or dinner, but when I was 16, I would've given anything not to be dragged out to the mall with them. We just didn't have the same interests, so 16-year-old me came to associate hanging out with my parents as something very boring.
Most of these texting \"records\" aren't all they seem cracked up to be. These kids are texting all of their friends at once, creating a pseudo chat room. Of course, even though it's a single text, since it's going to ten different numbers, the phone company records it as ten separate messages.
Holy shit. Have these kids never heard of MSN?
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to remember a time where text messaging was free because it took up so little bandwidth in comparison to actual phone calls. I remember \"discovering\" the feature and using it to send messages to a few friends. They'd call me up asking \"what the hell\" and I'd explain to them that it was a good way to not use up your minutes for short and/or non-emergency calls. So, what changed between then (it was 1997-1998 or thereabouts) and now?
Why is MSN (or IMing) better or different than chatting? It's essentially the same exact thing, just on a phone (you can IM on a phone, too!).
I can type REALLY fast on my cell phone.
@nakedscience: Me too. I am lighting! IM (on a computer) is different because it's free. The problem being that you're tethered to a computer, whereas IMing or texting on a phone cost money (costs for the message or the plan, cost for the data used). It's likely they don't have a data plan to cover the mobile IM.
If she's at home, but her friends aren't, she could easily hop onto gmail and send her friends a SMS text from gchat without charging herself any money (which is moot because they've got an unlimited text plan).
When I'm at the computer and want to text my friends, I use the SMS text feature in gchat because it's easier to type on a full keyboard than the phone and that message doesn't get counted toward the total I paid for because it was sent from my e-mail. As long as the person replies to my address and not my phone, I don't get that message counted.
How is she doing this at school? And shouldn't her parents make her stop THEN, as opposed to after dinner, when she is, presumably, done learning?
Easy solution if it is actually a problem - Turn off the phones ability to receive texts (Via your provider account) or make the kid pay for it
@squinko: What good reason can anyone have for not simply just talking to their friend when they're right next to them. I think we're creating a generation of purposely anti-social people.
Not anti-social, but definitely solipsistic. When you're texting (or online), the world revolves around you & what you're interested in. You don't have to participate in conversations you're not interested in, pay attention to a lecture, or read something dull. You just find something or someone else that's more appealing at that moment. It's a lot of fun, but it's also very self-centered. Probably not good to be immersed in that kind of environment all the time.
Also, we I've started noticing that electronic gadgets are very appealing to children. I don't know if it's a natural tendency to try to figure things out, or if we're training them younger to interact with these things. It struck me a couple weeks ago at a natural history museum & the zoo - no matter what you have around (animals moving around, giant dianosaur bones), if there's an interactive computer terminal, there's going to be a crwod of small children wanting to play with it. Disconcerting.
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1. \"She can't text after dinner\"....but I guess it's ok for her to text during school?
2. In addition to sending to multiple recipients, gotta wonder if that total includes incoming messages as well--which would make her actual usage lower than it would originally seem.
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I've talked to a small sampling of 13 and 14 year old girls over the past few years (babysitters, you pervs). It's probably safe to assume that 90% of the messages were either either LOL or OMG.
nakedscience ... my point is that any 13 year old that spends every waking moment, even when surrounded by friends, texting could be a sign that the girl has some kind of problem. I'm just saying it is at least unhealthy and at worst, a sign of bigger problems.
The father is foolish to just brush it off as something 'those crazy kids do' these days.
Just keep in mind the numbers here. A text message every two minutes for every waking moment for a month. A MONTH of solid texting.
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@nakedscience: no, but your just weird, it's so annoying when people contact other people by new communical means rather than talking to them directly or just even call out to them when they are in another room. I just dislike it because it's impersonal and rude.
@Mr.DuckSauce: Hardly. Infact i think its just funny. We used to IM/text each other even in the same room. Ofcourse, my preferred way of communication was replying to an IM by text, to a text by word, and to a word by IM.
That explains the bump on my head from one of those older motorola dumbells.
@Mr.DuckSauce: I've been known to IM someone in the same room because if we're both online, but we're busy focusing on one thing or the other, it's a little easier to just IM \"quick question...\" than to break the concentration. It's the same at my old job. There was a chat system and sometimes it was a lot easier. You don't want to yell across the room.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-62793-100x100.png\")
It doesn't seem out of range to me. Remember that we're not necessarily talking long texts. \"Ok\" \"u2\" \"omg\" \"really?!\" are all a text.
Consider, sent to 3 friends (3 texts) : \"What are we doing after school.\"
Each replies, \"I dunno, what do u wanna do?\"
That sort of conversation can take awhile, with nothing actually being said.
At least her parents can rest fairly assured that she isn't getting laid.
I always look for the bright side.
For all the people who wonder how teens text when they're supposed to be in school: it's quite easy. Despite having a no cell phone policy in the high school where I work, kids are texting constantly. The no cell policy means the phones have to be off, but the kids can still have them. Students sneak their phones out and hide them under their desks. They do it on bathroom breaks. They do it when they're walking down the hallways and no one is looking. Some clever kids can even type while the phone is in their pockets! Obviously, we try to catch them if they're being blatant about it, but it's impossible to catch everyone.
This is how students communicate today. When I was in high school (less than 10 years ago), we used Instant Messenger. I wouldn't be surprised if my monthly totals were in the tens of thousands. I also spent hours talking on my parents' phone. And when my mom was a teenager, she passed notes in class. New technology, same teens doing what they always do.
I think some of you are forgetting or don't know some possible things that would send the count higher:
You can send multiple texts at the same time. My current phone (LG RUMOR) lets me send to 25 numbers at a time. My previous one let me send 10 at a time.
Does AT&T include incoming and outgoing texts in the same count?
I'm sure there are other things that come into play as well. For the record my texting maxed out at around 1000 out/month at one time but has now settled to only about 300-400 out/month.
isn't this a dupe from two months ago?
also those were sent and received txts. she was probably signed up for a lot of automatic alerts and whatnot.
Bought my brothers cell phones for Christmas. In 1 month, 1 of them managed to rack up almost 17,500 text messages. That equals out to about 24 messages an hour. I called him up and I said cool it, but thank good for unlimited messaging. That wasn't even including what the other 2 brothers had. Total messages sent was near 30000 for the month out of the 4 of us.
I usually do 2000 - 3000 a month, topped 6k once . .
I'm 21 years old but stories like this make me feel like my childhood was eons ago. I just never got into this stuff. I send maybe 10 texts a month. I used to go on AIM but quit about a year ago and don't even have it installed on my new computer because I kept getting stuck in stupid conversations with people I didn't want to talk to and had to make lame excuses to end them. I feel like I'm more anti-social because I DON'T use this stuff. I just want people to leave me alone and contact me when I want them to. Constant IMing and texting don't do that.
@yevarechecha: How do people know when you want them to contact you if you aren't on AIM and you won't text?!!
Just kidding. But seriously, how do you get ahold of people? Do you call them or do they e-mail you, or what. I talk to some of my friends by phone but for the most part, the phone is used to talk to Mr. Pi, my parents, and his parents. I rarely have 2 hour conversations just sitting on the couch on the phone.
Old news. 2 Months OLD. Rehashed across all news pages many many times.
pecan 3.14159265, I doubt their conversations would have been any more meatier had they been by phone. :P These are teenagers, after all!
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@nakedscience: And even if they weren't teenagers, most human interactions aren't huge contributions to history. Between comments on the weather and simply repeating dialogue from movies that other people wrote, the goal is mostly human contact and group confirmation, not the creation of art.
Ipods are the hottest toy on the market these days. From what I can gather from my area and experiences with kids electronics are king, and are the new \"toys\". Forget about plastic, electronics and video games are all they get for gifts these days. Most children here own an ipod by at least age 7 or 8, and I have seen much younger kids walking around with cheaper MP3 players. Usually the want for an MP3 player starts in kindergarten, especially if big brother or big sister have one at 7 or 8 years old.
Cell phones don't seem to be particularly popular among 13 year olds in my area, maybe the teens who are a little older like 15 or 16 have them since they can earn their own money for them. Most parents here try to avoid getting their kid a phone for as long as possible, but they are fine with getting the ipod at extremely young ages. I only know one 13 year old with a phone and she hardly uses it anyways, and she owns an Iphone.
Unfortunately this means adult Ipod owners who are actually using them to their full potential are seen as childish and playing with what is widely considered a children's toy in the area that I live in.
I don't think this is wrong, and no doubt its only going to get worse over time, so its either modernize with the rest of the culture and have kids think that you are cool for knowing about the latest tech when no other adults do, or be left in the old days and be like your parents who only talk about what they didn't have as a kid, and have your kids hate you as a parent. Parents only talk about how technology is bad for kids and try to do everything to keep their kids away from electronic toys. Kids need role models too, so I think if parents ACTUALLY TRIED to understand technology they would have a better understanding of their children and have a better relationship with their kids. Too many parents I know write off technology as something they do not even want to touch, and ironically these people have the most tech-obsessed kids. They don't even make an effort, not even one iota of an effort to understand their children or why their kids have those white earbuds on 24/7. If parents got involved with their kids technology use, it would also help to moderate technology use among kids and they would be able to show kids that there is a life outside of ipods and texting and it wouldn't be painful for the kids either.
@Outrun1986: Now it's the iPod. In the 90s it was the walkman or X brand CD player. It's really not that different. I had a tape player when I was very young, a CD player when I was in my early teens, a pretty primitive music cell phone when I was in my late teens and then an iPod.
And if there's perception that the adults with iPods are playing with a toy, there's something wrong. The iPod is not a device for any particular age set. It's marketed to adults because generally adults have the money. Adult iPod owners shouldn't even care that there's a perception about their iPods.
I got my first cell phone when I was 15. kids are getting them younger and younger, and there are reasons..but in a lot of ways, parents should focus on building a network of trust with the parents of the kids who hang out together.
I remember tinkering with computers when I was a kid, and to my family it was kind of just a box that did a few things here and there (painfully old DOS machine) but I loved it, and I'd play all sorts of games on it. My parents didn't always understand what I was doing, but they knew I liked it, and knew enough to foster that kind of creativity.
If kids hate their parents because they aren't getting the latest gadgets, there's something a lot more disturbing about that family than the lack of electronics in the house. Not buying the latest gadget isn't abuse, and kids who see it that way clearly have growing up to do.
@pecan 3.14159265: I meant that parents should try to understand technology so that they understand why their kids are into it so much, instead of always saying that everything is bad for kids. Walking is bad for kids because they can fall while walking!
I also meant that the parents that do not even try to understand technology are the ones that have kids that are the most obsessed with tech, aka the ones that won't take out the earbuds for a min or put the ipod down. These kids get the gadgets handed to them by the parent but the parent doesn't know anything about the item they are presenting to their kid. Yet the kid wishes that the parent would sit down with them and they could set up the item together and have fun with it together. But any attempts made by the kid to interact over electronics are shunned by \"you know I don't understand that stuff, now play with your new toy\".
If there is non-communication in the family due to too many electronics, then both sides are to fault, the parents and the kids. If your daughter texts too much how about picking up the phone and texting with her, or at least trying, especially if its on an unlimited type family plan. If your kid plays video games, pick up a controller and play with them, studies recently showed that over 49% of kids want their parents to play video games with them, but the parents are unwilling to. If you can get down to their level then you might be able to solve the non communication issue. The problem is that so many parents are unwilling to try.
I haven't encountered a family yet where kids hate their parents because they aren't getting the latest gadgets, although I am sure that type of family is out there as well.
Things like this are why I don't want my currently-unconceived children to have cell phones. People like to tell me it won't be possible, but I'm gonna try!
It's impersonal and rude to whom, Mr.DuckSauce? Certainly not to you, since you didn't live with me and my ex-bf. So how is it impersonal and rude to you when I IM MY boyfriend in MY home?
We mostly did it when we were listening to music with headphones, or were in the middle of a game and it was less interuptive to just send a quick IM instead of going \"HEY YOU! HEEEEY ERIC! HEY ERRRRIIIC LISTEN TO MEEEE WHAT TIME DO YOU WORK TOMOROW?\"
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@squinko: I guess because sometimes people are having multiple conversations with separate people via texting at the same time.
@ pecan 3.14159265
IMing on a computer is not free. You still have to pay for your internet service. The girl has unlimited text. It's the same exact thing.
It's not that unlikely that they'd have a data plan to cover IMing, but mostly I was just comparing text to IM -- it's essentially the same thing, just via phone.
Sometimes I'll quickly text a friend instead of IMing them, because I have my phone with me and it's just more convenient then going to my computer, seeing if their online, etc. etc.
\"Not anti-social, but definitely solipsistic. When you're texting (or online), the world revolves around you & what you're interested in. You don't have to participate in conversations you're not interested in, pay attention to a lecture, or read something dull.\"
Erm. Actually, it's proven that some people work better and pay attention better when they multi-task. I know people who knit while listening/watching a lecture, because it helps them focus.
I can text and pay attention to stuff around me.
I mean, come on now.
@nakedscience: Some people definitely work better when multitasking. And a lot of the people who text or check their email while in class probably wouldn't have been totally riveted by the lecture if they didn't have their cellphone/PDA/laptop - they would have just doodled or daydreamed.
I think my point got muddled - by having all this new mobile connectivity, you never have to be bored. You never have to completely engage with something you're not interested in. And now I feel like an old fogey for saying this, but maybe there's something good about not always doing what you want or being stimulated by what you want. It's an eat-your-vegetables-they're-good-for-you kind of argument.
If you are always the master of deciding what you're engaged in, you never have to deal with things you don't like - or learn how to tolerate boredom, develop patience, understand another person's perspective.
@nakedscience: See, I'm mostly seeing stuff that suggests people don't focus as well as they think when they're multitasking--it's like being slightly buzzed convinces people they're better drivers even though they're not. Is there some specific stuff you can point me to?
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Call me a fogey, but I don't get the whole texting-instead-of-talking thing anyway. I can understand if you're say, waiting somewhere where you don't want to make noise, like in a doctor's office or something. Are they going to make phones with no talking capability next? If you like it, then text away, but I'd rather just talk and then get off the phone.
Just for God's sake, don't do it in the movie theater or while you're driving!!!!
I hope I don't double post this. I was a cheerleading sponsor for 12-15 year old girls. My experience has been they text so they can talk about the other people in the room (not nicely) without being heard.
What a waste of time and energy.
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Isn't when you are running instant messaging system from a phone that each inbound and outbound message is charged as separate message?
\"Text messaging\" must DIE! It's pointless, and ridiculously expensive. You have email and IM, what do you need something as ridiculous as SMS for?
Buy an iPhone and use IM or email instead, or maybe you could try - the horror - being disconnected from your friends a little more often?
Anyone who can actually use SMS that much needs to see a psychiatrist...
Our teenaged son's phone goes into our custody when it's homework time for this very reason.
What the hell are you talking about, Gokuhouse.
squinko, not everyone likes talking on the phone. I'm a pretty damn social person and I HATE talking on the phone. I'd rather text them, e-mail them, IM them, or see them in person. I rarely, if ever, actually talk on my cell phone, unless it is to my sister because she doesn't have a cell phone and thus cannot text.
Just because someone doesn't like talking on the phone, doesn't mean they are anti-social. I'm not sure you guys know what anti-social means. Texting a lot isn't it.
@nakedscience: Also, when I want to say something really quick, but it's a sensitive topic like about financial things, I'm more likely to chat because then people around you can't hear. It's not always feasible to find an empty office or a hallway to quietly conduct your phone call.
Ha. Pretty much! Another thing I noticed is the parents who weren't there physically would hear how mean I was but weren't there to witness their little angel's behaviour. They believe anything that is texted to them. I called them cell phone parents because I never really SAW them. I never heard from them again after I took their babies cell phones away and put them in a zip lock for all our events.
Also, \"but shouldn't she be paying attention in school?!\"
She's a teenager. If it wasn't texting, it'd be something else. I would write stories or doodle -- anything but pay attention to my teachers! I also read a LOT -- and got yelled at constantly for reading instead of paying attention.
And I hate when teachers yell at a student for doodling or sketching -- for some people, it helps them focus. If I had to just pay attention to a boring teacher without doing SOMETHING with my hands, I'd just daydream. Doodling at least kept my body occupied so I could listen.
@nakedscience: This is hilarious, I can't imagine a kid getting yelled at these days for reading! Although reading has seemed to make a comeback in recent years with Harry Potter, there were many years where you couldn't get kids to pick up books.
each text message is 1120 bits max, so if I've done my math right, they would have been charged about $1500 per megabyte sent. youch.
I find SMS messaging useful for one way messages (e.g., \"Call me if you are doing anything tonight\")if I don't want to bother someone but the back and forth messaging can get a little obnoxious.
However, I'm one of those people who still type in complete sentences with proper punctuation.
@Jesse: I type in complete sentences, but the punctuation is a little difficult with a non-qwerty keyboard because it takes three clicks to get to the punctuation screen. Once I get a qwerty-based phone, I'll be free to punctuate!
Exactly, floraposte. It always kind of amuses me when people say, \"BUT! How meaningful of a conversation can you be having over TEXT or IM or E-MAIL?! OH MY GOD! Talk to someone in person, have a meaningful conversation!\"
Yeah, 'cuz people always have meaningful face-to-face conversations!
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-260025-100x100.png\")
Why do kids under 16.5 have phones at all? I still don't understand that. There is no way a 13 year old should be texting all day at school. This is wrong on so many levels I can't even begin to address.
floraposte, Well, for me, if I'm just sitting there listening to a teacher yap, my brain wanders, and quickly. I start thinking about everything BUT the subject at hand. If I'm doodling or sketching, it's a little easier for me to control the daydreaming, because it keeps my fingers busy and I get a lot less fidgety
That was among the first I found when I googled \"doodle in class\"
\"Researchers in Great Britain have found that doodling is an important tool to help retain information. When studying individuals who listened to a recorded message which included factual pieces of information such as names and places, researchers found that those who doodled while listening, remembered 29 percent more than those who did not.\"
Jesse, you type in complete sentences, eh? Because that was some mangled grammar there! :P
squinko, I think the two serve different needs. If I call someone on the phone, I'm demanding their full attention right now. If I text them, they can respond at their leisure. Some stuff just isn't important enough to call someone and interrupt what they're doing. If it's just a quick message, a voice call also takes longer because of all the social formalities involved.
Also, talking on the phone in public is considered rude by many people in a way texting isn't -- especially on public transportation.
(WTF is up with the reply button? It was broken two days ago, it worked yesterday, and now it's broken again.)
Oh, and I am not advocating texting in class. You can't really text in class and pay attention. I agree that students shouldn't have cell phones at school.
Still, if it wasn't texting, it'd be something else -- anyone remember passing notes? Or daydreaming?
Teenagers are great at thinking of ways to not pay attention in class.
I;m old fashioned. I totally despice text messages, sending and receiving. I have only sent one since 2003. I hate that texting stuff so much that I asked ATT to disable that feature incoming/outgoing.
I know, most of you think I'm weird!
squinko, I really don't think you know what anti-social means. Texting ain't it.
Exactly, David Brodbeck! These same people saying, \"BUT BUT JUST CALLLLL THEM!\" would get rightly pissed if I were to try to call someone while on the bus just to say, \"HEY! Bus was late, I'm running about 20 minutes late, can you pick up some kitty litter?\"
And sometimes having naughty text message conversations makes the work day go faster:P
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I hate to say it, but she could be a candidate for \"My Super Sweet Sixteen\" and the parents would probably love that.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-352008-100x100.png\")
- dude
+ wut
- wya
+ huh?
- wher u at
+ mall
- which mall
+ da 1 wit mcd's
- no way
+ way
- lik no way
+ lik way duh
- brb rents
+ k
- ttlly unfair
+ lol wut
- grounded
+ lol why
- rents broke
- txt 2 much
+ k ttyl
In 10 minutes:
- still grounded
+ sux
one thing most people dont factor in is that any IM apps on a phone count for text, if i remember right for AIM, logging in is 1 text, logging out is another, than each message up to 128 characters, then anything after 128 is a 2nd text, it adds up quick.
@krztov: Yeah, that's how it is on my phone, but I never use text on the phone, heck I hardly use the phone at all. I think its 256 characters though these days. It even warns that logging into an Instant messenger can take several texts depending on how many buddies you have stored in it, and it can use even more texts if the thing disconnects and has to reconnect a lot. For some people you might be talking 10 texts just to log in, and even more to log off. So yeah, given this it can add up very fast. We also don't know if those messages are received + sent messages or only sent messages.
Did she send that many or is that all text messages sent from and to the phone?
Read the article. She comes across as an accomplished well rounded girl. If she is doing well in school, and has a reasonable cell phone bill, then leave her alone. This isn't our generation, it's the next one.
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If you're on twitter and choose to have a number of followers tweets go to your phone, your texting can jump into the thousands rather quickly.
I did 12000 my first month of working my a new desk job. Mainly just sat there and text people and chatted with people on aim and yahoo, the sms based ones. Also was taking stupid pictures of stuff all day and mass MMSing it to 30 people. Its down to under 1000 now because I switched to a blackberry and used the messengers that use data.
Thank you, Ilo. People are being harsh on her when she doesn't seem like an idiot at all. She just likes texting. So? I spent an awful lot not paying attention to teachers, passing notes, etc. I mean what the heck, she's a teenager. As long as she's doing well in school, what is the harm?
\"She say's she basically just texting back and forth with four of her friends all day long.\"
www.apostropheabuse.com
am I one of the few that wonders why the hell she is texting while she is in school?
@rockergal: Teacher's need quiet while they are correcting tests. Teachers are entertaining sometimes, but since they all teach from a textbook in high school, classes are 100% a waste of time.
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My god, that's 10 message a minute - asuming that she doesnt sleep or go to school - around the clock, non stop for 24 hours.
Classic case of shitty parenting if I ever heard one.
@El_Fez: Wait - check that, I forgot to carry the 1 - that's more like one every 3 minutes.
It's still damn sloppy parenting. Someone needs to grow a pair and take away the phone.
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Reina -- we know your googling your name too. Too bad your dad doesn't care about education. But you're setting your own destiny. You need to change your focus or you'll be in a low-paying job -- or in a dependant relationship, your entire life. Grow up soon.
Last February, my middle daughter (15) hit a personal best of 21,400. And that was a 29 day month. Ever since I only glance. I don't study it.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-445412-100x100.png\")
I would take her phone away, if I were her parent. That's just out of line and shows that she isn't spending enough time on her studies and haveing a life.
14,528 (messages)
divided by 30 (days) = 484.26 messages per day
divided by 16 (waking hours) = 30.26 messages per hour
60 (minutes per hour) divided by 30.26 (messages per hour) = one message every 1.98 minutes
I think you guys may have used 24 waking hours in your calc.
Kids should not be able to use their cell phones unless they ask mom or dad! Why should it make a difference if it's a cell phone, or an old-fashioned land line like we used to have? You still have to use it within permitted times.
@Yamunation: Why limit her just because of a number? Unless it is having a negative impact, let her see if she can hit 20000
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-54738-100x100.png\")
Last July my 15 year old did 7700+ and I challenged him to top 10,000 since he did so many... even he couldn't do that he said.
Up until then I laughed at the commercials where the girl was doing like 3000+ messages thinking that was a lot!
I know there are a million comments to this already and someone may have pointed this out but texting during school? Not possible at my daughter's middle school. If the kids get caught with a cell phone during school hours, they get an automatic 3 day suspension. It's an ease on my mind, I tell ya'. My daughter doesn't even turn hers on until she gets home from school.
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Where the FUCK does she get the thumbs?
@pecan 3.14159265:
When I want to contact someone, I e-mail them or call them. Or they call or e-mail me. I do have a texting plan, which is used primarily with my brother, since that is his primary method of communication.
I especially can't stand IM. I hate getting into conversations with 8 people at once and all of them being incredibly brainless (the conversations, not the people), yet they wind up taking hours because I can't figure out how to end them.
It seems that (from the 3 or 4 pages of comments I have read) no one has mentioned that the text counts go both ways... you get hit with a text count on an incoming text also. My 18 y/o son regularly breaks 18-20,000 every month. I agree with most of the other posters that these kids do not know how to interact with each other on a face to face basis and should be our real concern.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-474558-100x100.png\")
first time I got the daughter a cell phone when txt msgs were .05 each in and out, she racked up a 260.00 bill in one month. Said she'd stop, then did it again two months later. Two strikes, and when she did it again, I pulled the phone (two months too late, I'm afraid).
When t-mob offered 10.00/month unlimited texting, I saw a bargain and jumped all over it. Daughter got her phone back. Everybody is happy now!
And we're grandfathered in on that rate, might keep me with t-mob even after all our contracts expire.
my sister (19) averages over 10k a month.
the buttons on her t9 keypad have more or less worn out.
more so i think what she does is text blast...sitting there bored? send a text to 20 friends. theres 20, 15 respond? 35, reply back 50. 2nd response 65.
would add up pretty fast
so if you have an unlimted txt play why make her stop texting after dinner? It's not costing you extra money and it's texting. It's not like she's out doing drugs.
proven:
teenage girls talk too much.
probably about NOTHING.
Nowadays, though, you don't even need friends to get that many text messages on your bill. Just make an account with Twitter, turn on mobile updates, follow a bunch of people, and voila, it's the disappearing money trick.
I rarely text anyone, but I do use up a fair amount of texts because of Twitter, but I only have mobile updates with the four users that I personally know. The other 99 I follow (celebrities, news aggregators, etc.), I only follow via computer.
That's insane, and you're so right the parents made a key choice in getting the unlimited text plan. I had a bit of a texting issue myself (nothing like your example though) but I actually used the website www.fixmycellbill.com to get on a cell plan that best fit my needs. They cut my Verizon bill down by $230 annually--less than their average per customer savings, but I'm certainly not complaining. Whatever works, I suppose.
I am 18 years old and I hate that my generation only wants to text message. I have never sent a text message and I get ridiculed for it. I got my first cell phone at 16 when I started for driving and it was a prepaid phone. As for school, I attended a small private school and for my senior year I was getting calls for work about every day during school. I got permission to answer as long as it was not during class but that was due to an understanding administration. It is clear that all the teens who love their phone don't use it for work. I can't tell you how many times I have gotten calls at 6 am on a Saturday or Sunday telling me that I am needed for work. With my college's policy, If the phone is heard during a test it is censored cheating and is an automatic zero.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-70730-100x100.png\")
This girl has NOTHING on my lil sis who is 14
and send/recieves 8000 text a WEEK.
That's 36k+ texts a month.
Not on ATT, but still an unlimited text plan
.:whipes brow:.
oh and she has on average 10 minutes or less of voice a month.
kids these days. i tells ya.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-562864-100x100.png\")
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-435401-100x100.png\")
At most I text about 500 a month... but 14,000? good lord, I can't even fathom myself texting that amount.
@newdeepdan: I \"racked\" up 12,000 last month, I feel like I could easily hit 14,000 and then get a post on consumerist haha
@newdeepdan: Here is the answer to this question. Hold a text conversation with 10 other people. Whenever you text, text it to all 10. Imagine how many text messages you would recieve and send if you took a 1 hour conversation with 10 people and put it all in text. Wouldn't take long for you to get into the thousands of texts.