New York Times
As the popularity of text messaging among adolescents increases, so do some parents’ feelings that they are increasingly alienated from their children’s lives – frustrated when their children text friends during what should be quality family time, and that they can’t decipher messages filled with slang and acronyms. Researchers say the problem might get worse: By 2010, 81 percent of Americans ages 5 to 24 will own cell phones, many of which will double as mini-computers, allowing even more youth to shut out adults from their virtual worlds. Psychologists urge parents to regulate their children’s text messaging and to learn this form of communication in order to better relate to them. March 9, http://www.nytimes.com.
