When Texting Becomes an Addiction
We seem to be slaves to technology these days. We have our blackberries, our cell phones, our iPods.
It's gotten so bad that, for some people, it's an unhealthy obsession, reports CBS News Correspondent Michelle Miller.
Everywhere you look, there's a telephone, fingers are walking, thumbs are talking.
According to a recent study, 72 percent of cell phone owners send text messages -- up seven percent from just last year.
Too much texting has become what some doctors are calling an addiction.
"Anything that you can become obsessed with, and you do so much that you don't do the things you need to do with family, friends, school, job -- that can be an addiction. And texting absolutely can qualify," said Dr. Dale Archer, a clinical psychologist.
And teenage girls lead the charge.
"So, my phone has like a 30 text limit and then I have to delete it. I usually delete it like every two or three hours," one admitted.
The average 100 messages a day. This teenager is a textbook case.
"I can't even count," she added.
And with excessive texting come a number of problems, including lack of eating, isolation and sleep deprivation, experts say.
But the problem isn't limited to teens. A Google search revealed thousands of hits related to adults who have run into trouble while texting.
A Chicago cop is suing the city for two years of overtime pay for time spent on his Blackberry after work. A woman in Staten Island, N.Y., fell down an open manhole while texting and walking.
"All day long, from the minute I wake up until I shut it off at night and go to sleep, I'm on the phone constantly," said Deanne Katsaros.
Deanne used her iPhone until the tendons connecting her thumb to her palm became so inflamed that she needed surgery and stitches to correct the problem.
But with so many people hooked, the question becomes, how do you unplug and still stay connected?
Dr. David Greenfield, a clinical psychologist and founder of the Center for Internet Behavior talked to Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith about getting hooked on texting:
We'll continue this discussion tomorrow with questions from you, our viewers. A panel of our Early Show experts will be along to address any tech related questions you have - everything from talking to your kids about their use of technology, to the physical ailments we suffer from too much texting, to the way the digital age can impact your finances.
Copyright 2010 CBS. All rights reserved. It's gotten so bad that, for some people, it's an unhealthy obsession, reports CBS News Correspondent Michelle Miller.
Everywhere you look, there's a telephone, fingers are walking, thumbs are talking.
According to a recent study, 72 percent of cell phone owners send text messages -- up seven percent from just last year.
Too much texting has become what some doctors are calling an addiction.
"Anything that you can become obsessed with, and you do so much that you don't do the things you need to do with family, friends, school, job -- that can be an addiction. And texting absolutely can qualify," said Dr. Dale Archer, a clinical psychologist.
And teenage girls lead the charge.
"So, my phone has like a 30 text limit and then I have to delete it. I usually delete it like every two or three hours," one admitted.
The average 100 messages a day. This teenager is a textbook case.
"I can't even count," she added.
And with excessive texting come a number of problems, including lack of eating, isolation and sleep deprivation, experts say.
But the problem isn't limited to teens. A Google search revealed thousands of hits related to adults who have run into trouble while texting.
A Chicago cop is suing the city for two years of overtime pay for time spent on his Blackberry after work. A woman in Staten Island, N.Y., fell down an open manhole while texting and walking.
"All day long, from the minute I wake up until I shut it off at night and go to sleep, I'm on the phone constantly," said Deanne Katsaros.
Deanne used her iPhone until the tendons connecting her thumb to her palm became so inflamed that she needed surgery and stitches to correct the problem.
But with so many people hooked, the question becomes, how do you unplug and still stay connected?
Dr. David Greenfield, a clinical psychologist and founder of the Center for Internet Behavior talked to Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith about getting hooked on texting:
We'll continue this discussion tomorrow with questions from you, our viewers. A panel of our Early Show experts will be along to address any tech related questions you have - everything from talking to your kids about their use of technology, to the physical ailments we suffer from too much texting, to the way the digital age can impact your finances.
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The problem a texting addiction is that it doesn't just leave your fingers numb, it can also leave a life that way. That happens from neglecting so many things that would be happening in life if it weren't so narrowed down by this obsession.
People should know there are some great places to get real help with this.
You do a service to others by shining the light on this.
The thing about a texting addiction is that it doesn't just leave your thumbs numb, it also leaves a life numb. It does so by neglecting all the ways one might otherwise be engaged in body movement, face-to-face socializing, and a hundred other things that could be happening in a life if it weren't so consumed.
People should know there are some good resources to get real help with this.
http://www.howtotextflirt.com/help-for-text-addiction.php
http://www.howtotextflirt.com/help-for-text-addiction.php
The only less efficient texting technology I can think of is a smoky
fire and a blanket. Virtually nothing of any significance can be said
with 160 characters unless you're a haiku writer. They won't even give
you the complete character set. In attempts to overcome these limits
users create growing dictionaries of perversions, breaking every rule
of spelling and grammar.
The only purpose of SMS is to allow cell phone service providers
to use unused space on their always active tower control channels to
send a trillion texts that say virtually nothing, and to gather thirty
billion dollars a year to fo it. Average cost, about fifteen cents.
Modern technology at its worst.
Have hope! I've completed most of the engineering for a telephone
stand with a forty character display, and a drawer containing a folded
full size keyboard, editing software, and a modem of my own invention.
The user can create text of any length, comfortably, with ten fingers
(instead of sharpened fingernails or a toothpick), and when she's
pleased with her text, written in perfect English, she can place a call,
press a function key, and HMMMMM..., off it goes at 800 words per minute
as audio signals. In other words, no additional costs. She'll never pay
another dime to send text that actually says something. No computer, no
internet access, just a five dollar microprocessor. I'll allow you to
call this modern digital technology, but the technnology has been
available since the sixties.
There are millions of telephones on millions of business desks that
don't have connection to a computer and/or internet service, and they
are used by people who actually have information to convey.
I haven't the resources to obtain patents or build a company, so
please wish me luck in finding a manufacturer with the courage to attempt
to garner a small fraction of thirty billion dollars by hiring me to
prototype these devices.
Bert Rackett bertrackett@atlinkwifi.com
Prescription pills have become an addiction, and now texting. It used to be starving oneself: anorexia. What will be next? The underlying casuses which lead to addiction need to be understood and tackled: a complex question that.
Candadai Tirumalai
I have used a cell and walked about. It was not smart to. I tryed it in an area I knew well. I have no idea what text is. Back to the cell and yaking . I found when I talk on it, I was giving the caller my full attn. That said I could not pay attn to where I was walking. It was stop and talk. Safety first. Common sence as well.