Hyderabad: Short Message Service (SMS) or ‘texting’ as it is popularly known, is now integral to the lives of teenagers. They are constantly texting — updating status, sharing emotions and opinions, and reacting to messages from friends.
Reactions are not just expected, but demanded. When there are no ‘reactions,’ it is considered an insult and can even lead to scuffles. If there isn’t a minimum of five to 10 reactions, teens are offended. There are, in fact, groups of friends who have mutually agreed to comment on a Facebook status to ensure their updates are seen and heard.
Shanker Narayan, an engineering student, says, “I love sharing my details with friends and keep them posted with my latest updates. I feel great when they ‘like’ or comment on them, it gives me a feeling of being acknowledged, being seen and heard.”
Some of these youngsters, who struggle to communicate properly in English, use a lot of Hindi and Telugu slang in their communication like Re and Da. Some of them also use Hyderabadi lingo like kayko, hona, bata bolna and hau re, which are the most common. The mixing of two or three languages affects their verbal communication skills.
“When these children talk in the classroom or are asked a question, we often find them faltering as they are not used to proper speech on a daily basis. Earlier, they would verbally communicate with each other in groups but now we find that there is a text message for even a simple ‘hello’,” said Prof. Swati Sharma, working with a college in A.S. Rao Nagar.
The continuous texting does affect the concentration levels of the teenagers as they are very restless. “It is quite an effort to keep them engaged. When we ask questions, some of them go on the search applications and text the answer to the student who was not able to answer it,” explained Namita Saxena, teacher in an international school in the city.
Texting makes feelings a gadget-driven exercise
 Texting, experts say, is a superficial form of communication, where the actual skills of writing a complete or right word is not used. It has short forms and excessive use of emoticons. Texting has converted communication into a gadget-driven exercise more than the expression of actual feeling. It has also led to many illusions in relationships where too many `likes' are misunderstood for `love', they say.
Clinical psychologist Dr K. Prashant finds the trend dangerous. “Youngsters are living in an illusory world and are not ready to accept the reality around them. They are anxious, restless and their concentration levels have dipped dangerously . They fail to understand they are constantly emoting.
The emotions are being continuously expressed, which is not good for the nervous system for, ulti mately, the body mechanism will give up at some point. It comes in the form of fatigue, low concentration levels and sleep deprivation,“ he said.
The feeling of happiness or sadness is being converted into a quick text, during which the complete experience is being missed. “When one is happy, one lingers on it and feels it within. Due to hi-tech gadgets, the time span of the feeling is reduced and it takes away the experience,“ he said.
Next: 'Whatsapp' gossip center for housewives

'Whatsapp' gossip center for housewivesHyderabad: The texting syndrome is not uncommon among young housewives who find the WhatsApp messenger service an easy way to communicate with their friends and family across the globe. A large number of women have formed various groups involving close family, inlaws, community associates, school friends, college friends, kitty party friends and children’s friends’ mothers on WhatsApp, keeping them hooked to their phones from morning to evening.
The messaging can begin with something as basic as food, pictures of which are uploaded. “It (texting) has led to a lot of unwanted gossip as the smallest of family details are being shared online,” said Haseena Gandhi, who was hooked on to it, but due to a family scuffle, opted out of it.
The messages are forwarded and tend to change as there are some additions and deletions, sending wrong messages across. In case of a scuffle, “the quick reaction mode can be very dangerous as there are wrong illusions floating around which may not necessarily be true when you look at the facts. But does anyone have time for facts?” asks psychiatrist Dr P.K.N. Choudary. The worst impact is found on children who observe the behaviour of parents very closely, says psychiatrist Dr M.A.M. Khan.