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May 27, 2009
Physicians, psychologists concerned that sending text messages may cause anxiety, repetitive stress injury in teenagers
On the front page of its Science Times section, the New York Times (5/26, D1, Hafner) reports that physicians and psychologists are "beginning to worry" that sending text messages "is leading to anxiety, distraction in school, falling grades, repetitive stress injury, and sleep deprivation" in teenagers.
In fact, "American teenagers sent and received an average of 2,272 text messages per month in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the Nielsen Company." But, "the rise in texting is too recent to have produced any conclusive data on health effects."
Peter W. Johnson, an associate professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Washington, noted, however, that "based on our experiences with computer users, we know intensive repetitive use of the upper extremities can lead to musculoskeletal disorders."
Meanwhile, Sherry Turkle, PhD, a psychologist who is director of the Initiative on Technology and Self at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, speculated that texting "might be causing a shift in the way adolescents develop" by making it more difficult for adolescents to "break free from parents as they grow into autonomous adults."
Related Links:
- "Texting May Be Taking a Toll," Katie Hafner, New York Times, May 25, 2009.
Posted by admin at May 27, 2009 03:52 PM