Anyone here remember the 70’s? No, of course not – we weren’t even a blip on mom and dad’s radar yet. But they were there practicing free love and dabbling in drugs and all the other dangerous things they tell us about to keep us on the straight-and-narrow.
The most dangerous thing our generation is doing? Texting, apparently.
The New York Times recently wrote an article (published in their ‘health’ section, no less) about the dangers of texting. The sources scattered throughout the article wail about their teenage son or daughter sending thousands of texts per month (uh…more like per week) and the drastic effects it has on their poor baby’s health.
Seriously, parents and teachers? You’re worried about excessive texting rather than say, drunk driving or hard drug use? I mean, a case of sore thumbs can certainly ruin your day, but I’m pretty sure huffing paint thinner is gonna at least eff up your week.
The article cites problems such as anxiety, distraction in school, failing grades (probably a result of the distraction, I’m guessing), repetitive stress injury, and sleep deprivation. Um, this may just be me, but doesn’t that sound like a normal high school or college student? Hell, even before I had texting on my phone (yes, I was a late texting bloomer), I had a fair few of those ’symptoms’ (especially around finals week).
Let’s get serious, New York Times. Why don’t we set the texting ‘issue’ aside and maybe focus on something else (anything else)? Besides, in the time it took me to read your ridiculous article, I could have sent 17 text messages to my friends looking for drugs or discussing last night’s nooky. Clearly, our generation has larger issues.
Are you planning on sending a romantic text or picture message this Valentine’s Day? According to a recent AT&T survey 36% of texters are. 40% of those people plan on sending 5 or more (hopefully they are sending to friends and don’t have 5 or more lovers). 48% of texters say getting a V-Day text is about the same as getting a V-Day card.
Looks like Valentine’s Day in the 21st century looks a lot different than it used to. Whereas candy and cards used to be the only way to go, now we can email, IM, video chat, or text the people we love. But even with all those new avenues of communication, what you say and how you say it are still very important.
Since so many people will be sending texts this V-Day, you are going to need 2 things to get by:
1. An understanding of appropriate textiquette.
2. A phone that makes sending and receiving texts a whole lot easier.
Well, lookie here; we got em both for ya.
CollegeCandy teamed up with AT&T again to give one lucky reader a brand new Samsung Propel. This phone is pretty sweet, if we must say so ourselves. It is small and handy, but slides open to reveal a full keyboard! No more T-9 mishaps for you! Read More »
It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s especially useful when making a phone call isn’t an option (like at work or in class where you technically shouldn’t be using your phone…or when you want to flirt with a guy without being too committal.). It’s convenience is part of the reason it’s become so popular over the last several years.
However, not everyone (Read: crotchety old people) thinks it’s so great – many critics claim that texting is contributing to the deterioration of the English language. Critics worry that the common practice of using abbreviations and shorthand in text messages will cause people begin to speaking in shorthand, too. They also claim that students are turning in papers riddled with text-message slang.
WTF are they talking about? I don’t know where they get that idea from. OK, so maybe I have been known to throw a “BRB,” “LOL,” or “OMG,” into conversation, but whatev. I can still read and write! Read More »
Q: As I sit here writing this, I’m confused at every feeling I am possibly feeling.. I have this “friend” we will call Fred. I had the biggest crush on Fred, even though he has a kid (this just makes me a bit uneasy, I’m only 21. I don’t want to be tied down like that if things did progress, but I regress.) I liked him, but he never seemed to initiate anything, but via texts he was flirty.
Two or three months went by and I was in a relationship that abruptly ended. Since nothing had progressed with Fred I felt like he was just a platonic friend and vented to him. He was amazingly supportive and said everything I wanted to hear (i.e. he was a real jerk, I don’t know what you ever saw in him, you deserve better, yadda yadda…). Well this kind of opened my eyes to Fred more and I developed a bit of a crush on him again.
He started coming over to my apartment to watch our favorite tv show. The first time we did this, we made out, things started getting intense and I ended it. He came over again and we made out again, but my roommate was here, so nothing else happened. When he left, we kissed and he promised he’d call and come pick me up the next day.
His plans changed, so we didn’t get together (but he had a good excuse, if that matters), then the next day I sent him a text and he responded, but not as quickly as he normally did. Now comes today, I didn’t text him to see if he would text me and he hasn’t. Am I being paranoid or is he trying to shoo me off?
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times – while the holidays are upon us, so is the end of the semester. And this week was a mixed bag of excitement (shopping!) and dread (studying!) for the season.
If all of that doesn’t help you through the end of finals, at least take these tips for saving your grades and stick around next week for more CollegeCandy fun!
[Click HERE to read the first installment. Seriously…it’s worth it…)
After he walked me to the door of his apartment, I was left to walk of shame it on home. Which was about seventy blocks away. The problem with this building was, I couldn’t navigate it. And so wound up getting off on the wrong floor and taking the first exit I found, trying to leave gracefully.
As soon as I left the elevator, I realized that this was not the right way out. To the doors I went anyway, but then… Click. I was locked in the vestibule. Too late. I sighed and opened the main door to go into a courtyard. Fine. I could see the street beyond the other apartment buildings in the complex.
But why was there a construction barricade in the way of the stairs? Read More »
She has outlined some “dealbreakers” for us to go by when it comes to that guy you may or may not be interested in! Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments!
There’s a new report out there saying that when it comes to “flirty text messaging”, guys reply to a text from “their crush” usually within a hour, while girls wait an average of 1 hour, 19 minutes.
Even though this report comes to us from across the pond, I can totally see those numbers making sense in America as well. Why do women wait longer to reply to texts or missed calls from their crush?
Because we don’t want to seem clingy and desperate.
Society has done a number on us when it comes to our supposed frantic need for a man in our lives. The worst kind of women, magazines and TV shows and movies explain, is the desperate woman.
The girl who’s too eager to fall in love. The chick who’s all too happy to adhere herself to her new man and never let go. The woman who cluthes her cell phone to her chest, checking it every couple of seconds to see if her guy has called, ready to fill his screen with smiley faces and exclamation points.
Therefore, we have this equation:
Replying too fast to a call or text = desperate, desperate = bad, so replying too quickly to even the friendliest of texts?
Did you shudder? It seems like every time a guy utters that sentence, girls everywhere tremble a little inside.
It’s one of our biggest fears in a relationship. Are we hanging on too tightly? Are we calling too much? Should we pull back?
I could ask a thousand of those questions, but I won’t, because you’ve probably already heard them echoing in your head. Let’s just say clinginess tends to be a girl hang-up.
Knowing this and wanting to help (or just wanting to pretend he’s an expert on something) David Zinczenko, the editor in chief of Men’s Heath, recently wrote an article all about this relationship snafu, and how women can avoid it. While some people might think he’s finally cracked the code on relating, it seems to me that he’s just dolling out common sense.
The first thing Zinczenko urges women to do is not call their guy more than twice a day.
“You make more calls than that? The unspoken message is that maybe you don’t trust him, or don’t have enough to do yourself, or are relying too much on him for everyday satisfaction”.
Unfortunately, he has no advice for a situation I was recently in: a guy text messaging 7 times in one night.
The second thing us females should avoid? Joint email accounts. Um. Of course. Who in their right mind would force their significant other to share an email? Unless you’ve been married for ten years, this is the creepiest thing I’ve ever heard. Email is free, people. No need to be frugal. Read More »