This past September my wife and I traveled to Oregon. While there, we stopped at a McDonalds for a quick bite to eat. Instead of enjoying a nice conversation together, we were SHOCKED to see texting and mobile phones become a threat to the family. We watched two parents with three children interact in the play pen area or really saw the lack of interaction. The children would be running all over the play area while the parents payed no attention to the children or each other. They were glued to their phones texting, playing games, and surfing the internet. When a child would come over and talk to the parent, the parent would hardly look at the child because their attention was so focused on the phone they held. An opportunity to strengthen spouse of parent-child relationships was lost.
Some shocking facts about texting from the Digital Nation documentary:
According to the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, truck drivers are 23 times more at risk of an accident while driving compared to distracted driving. In a study done by Monash University Accident Research Centre, young drivers who text end up spending 400% more time with their eyes off of the road compared to those who do not text.
Take a sometime to watch this quick documentary by AT&T sharing stories of people related to texting and driving. It is a very powerful that hopefully provides you with a chance to see if you need to address the concern of texting and driving in your life.
STATE GOVERNMENT LEVEL
Out of the fifty states, only eight of those states do not have any laws against texting while driving. Those laws vary from state to state and some laws may not prohibit all age groups from texting and driving. Click on the picture below to see what the laws are in your state and see what other states have done. What could be done in your state to help protect our children and our families? Take some time out of your busy schedule to write a letter to your state leaders encouraging them to tighten laws on texting and driving.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT LEVEL
In Rexburg Idaho, there have been several problems with college students not paying attention while crossing crosswalks that have lead to accidents. Students just do not look up when they get to the cross walk and sometimes walk right in front of a car. Recognizing that this was an issue, the City of Rexburg created an ordinance that prohibits all pedestrians from texting while crossing the road. If someone is caught doing so, they will receive a ticket from the local police. I know many who have received such tickets and thought that it was excessive of the city to give out these tickets. Many do not realize the danger of texting while walking in the road. To help pedestrians be more safe, signs like the one below have been placed at almost every crosswalk in Rexburg in high traffic areas.The city has also painted the words "LOOK" on the asphalt at many crosswalks. Hopefully we can prevent accidents by raising awareness.
FAMILY AND INDIVIDUAL LEVEL
It is difficult to find many people that do not have cell phones today. Parents should take the opportunity to teach their children the importance of not texting and driving. Use some of the facts or videos above to create a chance to talk to children. The family is the most effective place to teach your children. Parents should also help their children know how to appropriately use this tool. Texting is not bad itself and can be beneficial in many different situations. Teach your children and those you love about the benefits and dangers of texting.
Many cell phone providers also have different services where you can restrict when your child can text or talk on the cell phone during certain times of the day if you child is texting too much. If you have a problem yourself with texting while driving letting texting disturb other areas of your life, talk to someone you love and ask them to help you regulate your texting habits.
TEXT MESSAGING
Text messages has become a major medium for communication today. I personally love being able to text my wife when either one of us cannot talk at the moment. It is a convenient way to pass messages to one another. According the Digital Nation documentary, using abbreviations while texting can actually increase test scores in areas of vocabulary and reading. Although it has positive uses and results, when misused it can become a threat to children or even adults.Some shocking facts about texting from the Digital Nation documentary:
- Teens ages 13-17 send on average 1,742 texts per month.
- When people text and drive simultaneously, their reaction time is cut by 35%.
- The younger generation has been classified as the "Thumb Generation".
TEXTING AND DRIVING
There are also many other cases where texting has become a major problem. One of the big problems is texting while driving. It is becoming an huge problem in American today. According to an article published by the Washington Post, 28% of all the accidents that occur are related to cell phone use. According to the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, truck drivers are 23 times more at risk of an accident while driving compared to distracted driving. In a study done by Monash University Accident Research Centre, young drivers who text end up spending 400% more time with their eyes off of the road compared to those who do not text.
Take a sometime to watch this quick documentary by AT&T sharing stories of people related to texting and driving. It is a very powerful that hopefully provides you with a chance to see if you need to address the concern of texting and driving in your life.
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO HELP THIS AND WHAT ELSE CAN BE DONE?
STATE GOVERNMENT LEVEL
Out of the fifty states, only eight of those states do not have any laws against texting while driving. Those laws vary from state to state and some laws may not prohibit all age groups from texting and driving. Click on the picture below to see what the laws are in your state and see what other states have done. What could be done in your state to help protect our children and our families? Take some time out of your busy schedule to write a letter to your state leaders encouraging them to tighten laws on texting and driving.
In Rexburg Idaho, there have been several problems with college students not paying attention while crossing crosswalks that have lead to accidents. Students just do not look up when they get to the cross walk and sometimes walk right in front of a car. Recognizing that this was an issue, the City of Rexburg created an ordinance that prohibits all pedestrians from texting while crossing the road. If someone is caught doing so, they will receive a ticket from the local police. I know many who have received such tickets and thought that it was excessive of the city to give out these tickets. Many do not realize the danger of texting while walking in the road. To help pedestrians be more safe, signs like the one below have been placed at almost every crosswalk in Rexburg in high traffic areas.The city has also painted the words "LOOK" on the asphalt at many crosswalks. Hopefully we can prevent accidents by raising awareness.
FAMILY AND INDIVIDUAL LEVEL
It is difficult to find many people that do not have cell phones today. Parents should take the opportunity to teach their children the importance of not texting and driving. Use some of the facts or videos above to create a chance to talk to children. The family is the most effective place to teach your children. Parents should also help their children know how to appropriately use this tool. Texting is not bad itself and can be beneficial in many different situations. Teach your children and those you love about the benefits and dangers of texting.
Many cell phone providers also have different services where you can restrict when your child can text or talk on the cell phone during certain times of the day if you child is texting too much. If you have a problem yourself with texting while driving letting texting disturb other areas of your life, talk to someone you love and ask them to help you regulate your texting habits.
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