a Little Light

    There is a trend which has been taking off exponentially over the past couple years. And no, I am not talking about Cougar basketball supporters or WSU incoming freshmen. I am talking about a tool widely used by the youth, but whose value is just beginning to reveal itself to the general public. We sent 75 billions of these this past June, compared to barely 7.2 in June of 2005, according to CTIA – The Wireless Association. I am referring to Short Message Service, better known as text messages. Text messaging has reached such a pinnacle in our society that is has become a verb. As text messaging continues its’ rapid adaption into our society, it’s time we begin to develop guidelines of use for etiquette, safety, and begin to realize the potential in these 160 characters.

    We can all agree that it’s rude to speak on the phone during dinner, conversation among friends, or class. But the level of inconsideration committed by texting during these situations has not seemed to be formally established. We can easily give examples of individuals whom text in situations where speaking on the phone would be considered overwhelmingly disrespectful. We need to remind ourselves that while we may not be generating verbal noise; our actions may be just as distracting.

    Beyond text messaging regulations due to simple courtesy is regulation due to safety. A recent Nationwide Insurance survey of 1,503 drivers found that nearly 40 percent of driver’s text while driving. This comes at a time when the cause of accidents from text messaging is increasing. While hard numbers are difficult to obtain, this disturbing trend has had emergency room doctors issue a warning in July against texting while doing other activities due to a rise in injuries and deaths in emergency rooms derived from texting. Law makers, as behind as they are on a number of issues, have already begun to take action to prevent further tragedies stemmed from texting. States such as California and Washington have made it illegal to text while driving.

    Law makers are not just concerned over the dangers of texting, but also the financial cost. A couple weeks ago, Senator Herb Kohl sent a letter to our top four national wireless carriers asking them to justify the significant increase in text messaging prices. Consumers are now paying more than 20 cents a message, compared to 10 cents back in 2005. It’s also worth noting that all carriers are increasing the rates simultaneously, a behavior inconsistent with a competitive marketplace.

Senator Kohl has reason to be concerned; text messages experience an astronomical amount of mark-up. One character in a text message is equivalent to one byte. So every text contains up to 160 bytes of data. If 160 bytes costs twenty cents, then 1MB of data would cost $1,310.72. Meaning one song download over the air would cost somewhere around $5,242.88. All while the cost of a text message to wireless carriers is virtually zero.

Perhaps we have become so reliant on text messaging that we’ll simply stomach these rates. Text messaging has become integrated to the point where presidential candidates use them to announce running mates, American Idol uses them to collect votes, Universities such as WSU use them to communicate with staff and students and many individuals text more than they actually talk on their phones. According to Nielsen Mobile, the average American sends about 357 text messages a month, while making 204 phone calls. Teens send about 1,742 in a month.

As law makers continue to shake out the logistics around the laws and pricing of text messaging, let’s exercise caution and courtesy in using this increasingly popular communication tool. Kthxbye.