It is a fascinating time in the life of a person when they first begin to feel older than others. I do not mean more mature, which a gradual process that does not surprise a person (such as watching a puppy grow up each day around you). When a person first feels old it is like being hit in the head with a baseball. You realize that those younger than you have a significant cultural difference that is attributable to their age. You are no longer in that class of persons on the "cutting edge." The one that everyone looks to and wishes they could figure out. Now I am the outsider trying to figure them out, and they make ZERO sense. My only retort is "call me old fashioned."

The example to which I refer is that of instant text messaging. I sent my own for a few years, but eventually disabled the function because I was getting spammed and I preferred talking to people on the phone - things get clarified much more efficiently. But certain people younger than myself are addicted to texting. It has become an intersection of instant gratification and the impersonal communication that has come to define our age. These people cannot wait until they are outside of a class or a meeting to respond or check texts. When I was a senior in college, there were a lot of people with phones under the table, texting away uncontrollably.

I have seen people separated by only a wall communicate by text instead of just use the phone or walk next door to talk to the person. I could be making more out of this then it is, but I doubt it. This generation could be losing its incentives to be in the company others - the "Bowling Alone" thesis might just be manifesting itself. While people may be "closer" in the sense that they are constantly sharing information, they could actually grow much further apart.

The problem is not just an unprofessional and immature obsession. Studies are showing that it is also ruining the spelling skills of young people in school. For me, reading books reinforced the proper spelling of words in my head. But when young people today are constantly communicating dozens of times per day in this "social shorthand," they are actually failing their spelling tests because of the reinforcement coming from text messaging.

Call me old fashioned, but I will prefer to look into sombody's eyes than to read a screen. I prefer to TALK to people instead of let electronics do the talking for me. Of course there are times when e-mails and such are more appropriate, but to me there is no better way to socially interact than talking to someone, preferably in person. Save the text message. Have a cup of coffee and a conversation - do not let a fragmented string of gibberish do the talking for you. If you are in a place where you cannot use the phone, then you should probably not be sending a text message either. If you choose to send a text message over talking on the phone, then you might just be a victim of this fad-gone-awry.