Teens Ditch e-mail for Texting and Facebook

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
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Times, they are a-changing. Teens are gravitating more toward texting/social networking and leaving IM and email to the old folks. This news has industry executives speculating how the trend could affect how teenagers who have grown up texting and using social networking sites will communicate with each other in the future.

It's no secret that teens love to text. In fact, half send 50 or more text messages a day — or 1,500 texts a month — and one in three send more than 100 texts a day, or more than 3,000 texts a month, the study found, which involved a national survey of 800 teens and nine focus groups in four U.S. cities. But as these quick and casual messages dominate how they communicate, e-mail has taken a back seat — with teens citing the platform as a "formal" and "grown-up" way to be in touch with adults
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seems to me texting is the EXACT same thing as instant messaging, they didn't give it up (ok email they did) they just found a new client, namely their cell phone
 
Texting and instant messaging of any sort is really doing the same thing as email anyway - sending text from one computer to another, in this case the computer is just a small hand held device as opposed to a desktop PC.

What's so odd is how the technologies have reversed their roles. As computers developed voice capability and phones developed text capability, each is being used for the opposite of what it was originally able to do. Now people use voice chat on PC's for gaming or Skype instead of sending emails, and they text using phones instead of using them for voice communications. It's strange how things change in unexpected ways over time.
 
sfsuphysics said:
seems to me texting is the EXACT same thing as instant messaging, they didn't give it up (ok email they did) they just found a new client, namely their cell phone
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And technically they didn't give up email. Instead they send messages (email) via a new client [Facebook/Myspace] rather then Hotmail or Yahoo Mail. I still use email frequently for schooling, forums, websites, news letters, updates.
 
I'd probably be one of the 'old folks' they talk about, lol. I tend to stay away from email and go more for instant messaging though (3 email accounts is the reason why, one for spam, one for normal messages, then one 'permanent' address that's pretty much never used, lol).
 
I'm 19 and i use e-mail and IM only lol.

I hate texting and i would never communicate solely on facebook.
 
Meh, it's just a life phase.

Instead of rabbiting about nothing all day face to face, they are using their devices instead as a gateway to dribble nothing to their friends.

Once they grow up, most will mature out of using txt so much and move to more email/im stuff. Then the next gen will pick up the next new easy to communicate nothing over technology, and we'll get a "phone texting is dead" story in about 10-15 years.

Even us oldies can relate in a way, EG: you go from talking to your friends to passing notes when you can write to using to phone with the olds permission, etc.
 
omg teens drop emailing and obviously it means that everyone else must think that it is obsolete. So all those businesses that rely on email to keep records must be completely out to lunch.

I think we might need a little less sensationalism around here.
 
It's true, I've been told I'm 'old' for using IM, and that everyone just texts... coming from someone in their mid teens.
 
BloodyIron said:
omg teens drop emailing and obviously it means that everyone else must think that it is obsolete. So all those businesses that rely on email to keep records must be completely out to lunch.

I think we might need a little less sensationalism around here.
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Kids don't need a way to cover their ass with proof when they send their buddies a text about how x girls ass is so big.
 
Since when has emailing been the primary form or communication? 15 years ago? In high school I talked to all of my friends via AIM. Now, i feel like more of my friends are on GChat, but... that and texts have similar usage, and then email is still used, but to a smaller extent and more for "important" things, like actual event planning.
 
This is highly annoying.

I ABSOLUTLEY HATE it when people who have my email address send me a facebook message instead. Just email me for christs sake. It's a much better interface, and this way I don't have to go log on to facebook and share all my info with those fukctards.

Texting has it's benefits. It's no replacement for talking to someone or emailing them, but if you are somewhere where you can't talk, it's more immediate than typing an email that someone may or may not see for a while.

I think it's pretty dumb to do the majority of your communication via text messages, becaus ein most cases you can't save them, index them search them, refer back to them when you forgot something as easily as you can with email.

And then there is Twitter. Twitter is the fucking dumbest thing to ever be invented. It's like sending an email to all my friends, but I can only use 140 characters. What the fuck can I say with only 140 characters?

What can I say. Young people are fucking retarded. I'm only 30, but I feel old, and I'm now proud to be old, cause at least I ahve some fucking sense.
 
Maybe these teens parents who are footing the bill should wise up a little. If you have a smart phone you have a data plan which you area already paying for. Email/IM's all get sent through your data plan. There is no need to pay for a texting plan.

What if someone you know doesnt have a smart phone? Then you can send an email to any text enabled phone anyway.

http://sms411.net/how-to-send-email-to-a-phone/

I have a BB and carry the cheapest $5 texting plan from Verizon for people who insist on texting me first. I usually reply through email.
 
BloodyIron said:
omg teens drop emailing and obviously it means that everyone else must think that it is obsolete. So all those businesses that rely on email to keep records must be completely out to lunch.

I think we might need a little less sensationalism around here.
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Seriously, why is this front page news? This doesn't affect anyone in any way. Teenagers are insignificant. I should know, I am one (although a late teen and not quite a wee one).

I've never given up email, ever. I'm also an avid texter. On especially lively days I can blow through hundreds of texts. I also have lots of conversations on AIM. I still use email for "more-than-personal" use, i.e. school related things, speaking with employers/coworkers, dealing with bank/credit card/insurance stuff, etc. I won't actually socialize over e-mail, but that doesn't mean it's obsolete.
 
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