The Benefits and Risks of Texting

By Jace Galloway-Shoemaker

Contributed by: bNetSavvy.org

Texting is a form of wireless communication where users send or receive short, digital messages electronically.  Texting is also known as SMS (Short Message Service).  Although the bulk of texting is done via mobile-to-mobile devices, websites and companies are also jumping on the bandwagon.  Some companies allow users to “web text” by sending and receiving text messages to mobile devices from their computers.  Many provide the service for free.

Text messaging is an extremely popular method of communication.  CTIA-The Wireless Association®, the international association for the wireless telecommunications industry, reported that over 48 billion text messages were sent in a one-month period in 2007, which averages 1.6 billion messages per day.  

Who Is Texting?

Statistics show that texting is not just for kids. According to the Pew Internet Project’s December 2007 survey, 31 percent of American adults send or receive text messages every day, while 60 percent of young adults text daily.  

The world of texting is putting a new spin on traditional events:

• Samsung Telecommunications America reports 61 percent of Americans, if given the chance, would prefer to vote in presidential elections via text messaging.
• Quantas, an Australian airline, will begin a trial period of in-flight text messaging and Air New Zealand may soon follow.  In-flight texting would allow passengers to keep in touch with loved ones on the ground without disturbing fellow passengers in cramped quarters.
• In an effort to better communicate with the community, the Boynton, Florida, Police Department launched the “Citizen Observer Program”.   By registering online, citizens can receive emergency alerts on their wireless phones. And texting is a two-way street for this department; citizens can text tips to police.  Police departments in Boston, Louisville, Seattle, Kansas City, and other major cities are also using text messaging to augment law enforcement efforts.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, in partnership with law enforcement agencies and participating wireless carriers, now issues Wireless AMBER Alerts.  Through this free service, wireless phone subscribers are able to receive an urgent child-abduction bulletin in the form of a text message (seehttp://www.wirelessamberalerts.org/)