With today's technological advancements, texting has become a necessity for American teenagers for social survival. Teens are drug addicts who send and receive hundreds of messages a day. Plus, texting can be a great way for parents and teens to stay connected, but are teens overdoing it? Many medical professionals and educators are increasingly concerned that texting contributes to distraction in school, lack of sleep and repetitive stress. injuries. While there are no long-term effects yet, many teens complain of thumb pain from repetitive texting, similar to when computer keyboards were found to cause carpal tunnel syndrome. (Hafner, NY Times) Teachers complain that they can't afford to spend time in every class monitoring students' use of text messaging. Teens don't pay attention and grades drop; they cheat on tests via SMS and write using text jargon on the documents they are handed in. (Loftis, Techlearning) My sixteen-year-old son constantly has his cell phone at hand; he actually sleeps with it in his pillowcase. When I talk to him, I notice that he doesn't make eye contact. I attribute this to the fact that texting affects teenagers' interpersonal skills. Teens' concentration and attention spans are decreasing, and the constant multitasking they do is no longer necessary. They are more worried about the next message than the person sitting in front of them. Elizabeth Berstein's article "Sorry, I'm Late" talks about how texting enables bad behavior and lack of courtesy in reference to adults who should know better; after all, we belong to a generation before this technology existed. In one part, Bernstein refers to the way in which it is chronically used... middle of paper... exact device. Additionally, new software, called Drive Assist, can detect when your phone is moving, such as while driving, and automatically redirects all messages until you stop. (Loftis, Techlearning) The key is to hold them accountable for their actions; It's our job as parents to teach our children responsibility. Teens and texting have its positives and negatives, but do the benefits outweigh the risks? When used appropriately by teenagers, this technology can be very useful. On the other hand, if your child can't consistently show maturity, responsibility, and exercise good judgment, then no, it's not worth introducing additional distractions into an already complicated time in their life. Many generations of teenagers have survived without the tools of the digital playground; even this empowered generation can learn to do without it.