Teenagers Text Messaging Practises

Posted: August 15th, 2003 | No Comments »

A report from the Xerox park ( Grinter, R.E. & Eldridge R., M.A. (2001). “Y do tngrs luv 2 txt msg?”) studies (sent to me by icon) the use of text messaging among teenagers. Its key findings are:

  • Teenagers use text messaging to co-ordinate how and when the interact, revise and adjust arrangements and chat
  • Text messaging happens mainly among peers (90 per cent) and at home (63 per cent)
  • The restrictive lengthh of text messages allows the users to forgego conversational conventions and reduces time spent on the interaction
  • Text messaging is cheaper, allowing teenagers to manage their expenses using prepaid vouchers
  • Text messaging changes the dynamics of teenage communication but not the content
  • Exchanges are shorter but richer

    • The research also revealed the problem of the ever evolving “text message language”, far from being a quick and easy method of communicating, leaves even teenagers confused and unsure of the meaning of many messages. The main problem is that different people have different levels of understanding of the abbreviations and shortened words that are used. Many teenagers also reported diffulty in determining the sender’s intent from the content of the message. Whith the message being so brief, teenagers reported that they were sometimes unsure whether the content were serious or a joke. All this relates to my previous posts Degeneration of Online Social Networks and Neo-netiquetism.