| With the popularity of texting many parents and | | | | effect, the study does suggest that parents and |
| educators are wondering what effect this will | | | | educators should not be concerned about kids |
| have on this generation of teens. While it is easy | | | | using linguistic shortcuts when texting. In fact it |
| to simply write this phenomenon off as simply | | | | might be better to concentrate on the long-term |
| part of this generation it is important to | | | | damage to their thumbs instead. |
| understand both the cultural and personal | | | | Another study took at look at how text |
| significance that texting has in teens lives. While | | | | messaging helps kids to fight the flab. With the |
| many parents complain that it has become | | | | increasing obesity rate especially among the |
| impossible to have a conversation with their teens | | | | young researchers have felt it important to learn |
| without a vibrating phone announcing more text | | | | whether texting was having an effect. This study |
| messages you may surprised to learn that some | | | | actually showed that if you are a fat teenage |
| recent studies have shown that texting can in | | | | then it can be helpful to pick up your cell and text |
| fact be good for kids. Here is why- | | | | yourself thin. It has been shown that texting helps |
| A recent study of kids aged between ten and | | | | kids to shed those extra pounds. For three |
| twelve, has discovered that those who regularly | | | | weeks the University of North Carolina's School of |
| text have better reading skills despite the use of | | | | Medicine asked 58 kids, aged between five and |
| text abbreviations. The increasing use of | | | | 13, to cut down on sugary snacks, reduce their |
| abbreviations, phonetic spellings and the dropping | | | | TV time and increase their physical activity levels. |
| of vowels is a constant source of irritation to | | | | These kids were split into three groups, with |
| many adults who happily quote anecdotal | | | | those in one asked to report their daily activity |
| evidence of declining standards. This outcry has | | | | time, snack intake and TV time back to the |
| promoted researchers to take a more scientific | | | | study's monitoring team by text message. When |
| approach and their findings seem to suggest that | | | | this was done the team then sent the kids back |
| texting aids literacy rather than damaging it. The | | | | a motivational message along the lines of: "Wow, |
| study was conducted by getting these texting | | | | you met your step and screen time goals - |
| pre-teens to compose text messages in response | | | | congratulations!" The kids in the other two groups |
| to a range of scenarios and then the study | | | | either recorded their daily fat stats on a scrap of |
| compared the frequency that each child used | | | | paper or did not monitor them at all. According to |
| textisms with tests of their reading, vocabulary, | | | | the researchers, the process of having the kids |
| and phonological awareness. The results clearly | | | | recording their daily activity levels and snack |
| indicated that the increased exposure to print, in | | | | intake by text message, along with the added |
| any form, led to greater literacy with those using | | | | motivational text message response, may have |
| most text lingo being more literate. Of course | | | | contributed to kids in the text message group |
| even the researchers were quick to admit that an | | | | losing the most weight. While medical expert's |
| alternative explanation would be that the quite | | | | state that this study was small and the results |
| bright kids use lots of text abbreviations and tend | | | | should be scrutinized there is still the possibility |
| to read more, while the more | | | | that texting can be good for our kids. The |
| educationally-challenged stick to easy words they | | | | bottom line is that texting may be a useful tool |
| know. Regardless of whether this is cause or | | | | for self-monitoring of healthy behaviors in children. |