In line with the last post on Twitter, Facebook, and the demise of the web, the New York Times has an article on the health effects of constant texting.  Not only is excessive texting bad for your thumbs, but it’s also likely to be bad for your mental health!

So what do texting, Twitter, and other social networking sites have in common?  They all encourage a high frequency of short and relatively meaningless “communication”…further dumbing down society.  With constant low grade interruptions it’s no wonder so many people are diagnosed with ADD these days.  According to the NYTimes article, the average teenager gets/sends 75 text messages a day!  As a “punishment”, Reina was limited to 166 messages per day.  Imagine that.

This obsessive, constant texting is not only bad for mental health and development, but it’s also incredibly rude.  How many of you have been in the middle of a conversation with a real human being when they started texting…or for that matter, answering their ringing cell phone over and over again?  I’m going to start a new rule: I won’t talk to anyone who answers cell phone calls or text messages in the middle of a conversation. Interactions with real people should take precedence over virtual communication.

Two years ago I gave up my cell phone.  It was one of the best decisions I’ve made.