Generation Text, is it on its way to the US?
The first chapter of Howard Rheingold’s book “Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution” titled “Shibuya Epiphany, Rheingold details the world of Thumbing Tribes, or as one Filipino youth put it “Generation Txt.” He talks about his interviews with youths in Tokyo, revealing the abundant everyday use of text messages. (Whether to girlfriends, friends to organize an event, or just a “good morning” or “good night” or “just thinking about you”.) He also speaks of other studies in this area to different demographics, such as those by the anthropologist Mizuko Ito, revealing the same results. In my opinion, and from the results of such studies, American youths don’t use text messaging services nearly as much as international youths do. I feel there are two major points in regards to this. The first, is that text messaging is just not as popular because most American youths are not engaged enough with their mobile phones to take part in this (this is a direct result of poor marketing on the part of cellular phone companies). Moreover, the pricing of text messages is ridiculous. My roommates younger brother racked up 78 dollars in text messages alone in one month, in addition to the 40 dollars my roommate spent on text messages the same month. Needless to say, mom and dad cancelled the text messaging capabilities from their service. There are plans for cellular phones that allow maybe 500 text messages a month for 5 dollars. And though these are advantageous to people who use text messaging a lot (and there is a good many) it really isn’t fiscally efficient for those that don’t. Take my other roommate Eric for example. He may text message 20 times a month, resulting in a two dollar addition to his cell phone bill because of this. Now it isn’t fair for Eric to have to buy 500 text messages for 3 dollars more, and over months that 2 extra dollars a month does add up.
And yes it is significantly cheaper for youths in international countries to send messages, but that isn’t it. In such countries as Korea, China, Japan most youths and those younger have cellular phones. There are many children and young people in supposedly technologically privileged countries like the United States who still face a kind of '”information inequality,” as a result of poor access at home and school. The need for a cellular phone remains a subject of much argument in American families, and a 5th grader with a cellular phone is still very much taboo,
I doubt we will ever see the “Generation Txt” that is present elsewhere make a significant impact on American social culture, but then again, who knows?
Comments
Posted by: Katie Riley
Posted on: December 2, 2005 02:28 AM
personally for me i have a plan that's unlimited.. i kept going over and then my mom just decided we might as well get a little plan,, then the little plan turned into an unlimited plan.. and now since tyler and i arent together i really have been texting a lot more..
Posted by: Kenny Long
Posted on: December 2, 2005 10:23 AM
I know my dad's phone bill came in a minalla folder one month because i had txted poeple so much.