According to an article that appeared in Woman's World Magazine 1/25/10 issue we should let our kid's and teens text to their hearts content.
The article sites a study conducted by Linda A. Jackson, Ph.D. at Michigan State University. They found that every word they type is making them smarter! Unlike Television watching, which is a passive activity, texting improves teens reading and writing skills.
Jackson says, "They're reading double or triple the amout that they usually do, resulting in higher grades and better scores on standardized tests."
A British study also found that texting and instant messaging can help a shy teen form more social bonds than they normally would. Which leads to increased self-esteem.
I'm not sure the teacher will count text messages towards a kids 20 minutes of reading each day, and I'm sure that the abbreviation used in texting makes their spelling much, much worse.
But anything that gets them to read works for me. Cereal boxes, comic books/graphic novels, websites, and video games with text all are great ways to sneak "reading time" into your teens day.
But anything that gets them to read works for me. Cereal boxes, comic books/graphic novels, websites, and video games with text all are great ways to sneak "reading time" into your teens day.CU l8R!
Michele, children's librarian
1 comment:
First of all, thank you for covering this important, 21st century teen topic. You have written an excellent article about an appropriate topic. We should also let you know about a nationwide nonprofit program which aims at reducing the impact of such teen texting/e-issues. You may find the program’s website at www.MyTtext.com . It’s a unique program that no other nonprofit in the nation is doing right now (that we can find!).
Our TText program delivers a positive daily text message for teens straight to their cell phones. The daily messages range in content from teen-related humor, to news, to positive-outcome messages designed to inform teens about risky behavioral choices (e.g. drug and alcohol use, safety issues like texting while driving, teen sex, etc.). The point is to build a virtual relationship with the teens through the daily content and then to sprinkle in like salt the healthy messages. We also have the capability to conduct surveys with the teens directly. For instance we can text them on Monday morning and ask them, “How many of your friends took a drink of alcohol this weekend?” and thus receive live behavioral data straight from the teens themselves. Parents can sign their teens up for the program for only $5/month on the website.
Anyway, just trying to get the word out about this! If you have an e-mail list or a website where you can share about this, please let me know. Would love to give you more info. about it, if you are interested.
Thanks for all you do,
Cody Moore
Executive Director
The Tree House Center for Youth, Inc.
1505 Chipeta Ave.
Grand Junction, CO 81501
www.TreeHouseCenter.org
970-241-8001 (o)
970-241-8016 (f)
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