May 30, 2006
Technology leaves teens speechless
USA Today claims that text messaging is wiping out teenager conversation and that employers and communications experts are anxious. "This generation may be technologically savvier than their bosses, but will they be able to have a professional discussion?"
"We are losing very natural, human, instinctive skills that we used to be really good at," says Sonya Hamlin, author of How to Talk So People Listen: Connecting in Today's Workplace.
Hamling claims kids today are used to re-reading an IM message six times before answering and no longer know how to improvise, banter spontaneously or chat face to face.
"A 2005 report for Achieve, a non-profit organization that helps states raise academic standards, found that 34% of employers were dissatisfied with the oral communication skills of high school graduates; 45% of college students.
Among teens who go online daily and own a cellphone, 53% most often communicate with friends via written messages, according to a 2005 report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, and 61% of the time they're chatting via IM. Texting wasn't prevalent enough when the study was conducted."
The above picture is from Sprint, offering text messaging.
Someone sent me this a while ago. A must see video which perfectly illustrates teenage interaction today.
Click here to view.
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