Eugene area parents concerned about rise in mindless texting

EUGENE, Ore. – The recent story about a woman who fell into a mall fountain while texting has not focused on this unique social activity; for example, strike the pose and bend your neck forward while also doing anything but sitting still is how many youth “text” these days, and parents say it’s dangerous.

At the same time, a parents group in nearby Eugene has launched a "no Text outside" proposal for area schools to follow.

In fact, using cell phones and texting is now banned in all Eugene area schools.  But, parents know that "kids will get around anything that will give them the idea of pleasure," says local mom Charlene Thompson.

“It’s like seeing youth these days posing as birds with their necks stuck in a hole, but it’s a cell phone that serves them as they text or play some brain numbing Internet game,” says Thompson.

At the same time, Thompson notes her kids “running into furniture, spilling their food and just being somewhere else when they text.”

Moreover, Thompson shares a “text horror story” that her son Frank told her that will make any devote text fan think twice.  The mother of three also notes that “my friends think it’s terrible the way these kids of our think they can multi-task even when they should be watching out for themselves.

“Franks says this gal in his biology class was sneaking a text to a friend while handling some chemicals.  She wasn’t paying attention, and forgot her safety goggles.  As she texted and then poured the chemicals it splashed into her right eye and burned her.  Frank said he was ‘freaked,’ and sharing that didn’t make me feel any better about kids being so into these texts about nothing, really, that it makes one think,” she said.

Cells serve as an escape for kids

Although cellular phones and personal digital assistants are marketed as a device to make one’s life easier, it’s an inconvenient truth that “this technology is actually beginning to interfere in the lives of users who don’t know when to turn them off,” says a psychologist who studies addictions to the Internet and other technologies.

In addition to being a telephone, “cells” as they’re dubbed, also do a lot of “fun stuff” for kids who seem to be bored with such things as talking to parents, playing sports outside or anything non-tech, says Coos Bay mom of four Gina Wolcott.

Wolcott recently stopped by the “Pony Mall” in downtown Coos Bay to check out possible gifts for her son's birthday.

“I was surprised by all the additional stuff cells now offer,” she explained while pointing to a chart of accessories, such as SMS for text messages, e-mail and Internet access, gaming service and Bluetooth and infrared short range wireless communications.

“There’s a camera phone that my son wants, but why does he need more than just a phone that takes pictures,” she asks.  “I mean there’s all this messaging, MP3 player and radio features.  And even a GPS feature and he doesn’t even drive yet.”

Wolcott is concerned that with her son “not doing great in school,” that the distraction of having a cell phone that’s more or less code for a portable computer these days, “will only hurt him in school.”

And, she adds, “I have to hold my breath when he starts driving next year and has this thing (cell) with him all the time.”

Although the first handheld mobile phone was first used back in 1973, and weighed nearly five pounds, it’s become a “sort of cultural game changer,” say experts who’ve studied the phenomena.

Cell phones can lead to addiction, say experts

“It’s not so much talking on the phone that’s typically the problem, it’s this need to be connected, and to know what’s going on and be available to other people.  That’s one of the hallmarks of cell phone addiction,” says Lisa Merlo, a University of Florida psychologist who a frequent media source for technology issues.

Merlo also noted that “cell phone addicts” compulsively check their phones for voicemails and text messages.  This time spent doing this “checking of the cell,” is time they are not devoting to listening to people and other person-to-person communications.

When cell phone overuse really becomes an issue is when “people have underlying anxiety or depression issues,” Merlo says.

One clue to possible cell phone or gadget addiction is when “people can’t be separated from their cell phones.  Frequent users often become anxious when they are forced to turn off the phone or if they forget it at home, so much so that they can’t enjoy whatever they’re doing,” she adds.

Your cell phone may be hazardous to your health

In total, more than 270 million people subscribed to cellular telephone service last year in the United States.  Officials with CTIA – the Wireless Association -- state that’s an increase from “110 million in 2000.”

While CTIA – a company that receives funding from wireless companies – states that cell phones do not pose a public health risk, others seem skeptical about a science that’s yet to be fully studied over a long period of time.

In 2009, Dr. Ronald B. Heberman, director emeritus of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, sent a memo to more than 3,000 faculty and staff members warning them of cell phone cancer risks.

Heberman’s memo said “children should use cell phones only for emergencies because their brains were still developing and that adults should keep the phone away from the head and use a speakerphone or a wireless headset.”

“Scientific conclusions often take too long when it comes to the dangers of cell phones,” he said.

Families are rethinking cell phones for kids

Tony and Norma Drago are shopping for smart phones in a San Francisco area strip mall.  They ask the clerk about “absorption rates” for a phone that may go to their teenage daughter Terri.  The clerk says “I don’t have a clue about absorption rates… I just cell phones.”

At the same time, the San Francisco mayor’s office has marketed the idea of cell phone warnings over the past year in hopes of getting enough local support to require warnings for anyone who buys a cell phone in the city.

“I’ve seen the proposal from Mayor Newsom and it’s pretty cool from a design standpoint.  He wants the cell phone advisory of risk in big letters and the word ‘warning’ in red with a color graphic of a child’s brain next to the warning.  It’s a bit over the top when you think that most people view cell phones as safe,” says San Francisco based web site designer Meg Ferrand.

Moreover, a Maine legislator wants to make its state the first in the country to require cell phones to carry warnings “that they can cause brain cancer.”

While there’s no consensus among scientists about the cancer danger, Ferrand notes that cell phone companies “have billions to spend on marketing their product.  They want Americans to buy more cell phones, and they will do just about anything and everything to make sure that happens.”

Cell phone use “massive” in America, worldwide

BillShrink, a popular website which collects and analyzes the cell phone calling needs of about 500,000 cell phone users per month, says consumers make 65 percent of their calls to the same five phone numbers.  However, these same callers “could easily just talk to these family members and friends,” adds Ferrand who’s admitted addiction to cell phones.

“I quit, or should I say I’ve really cut down on my cell use.  I also don’t allow my daughter Tina (age 7) to use a cell because of what we simply don’t know yet about how much cell phone use can lead to cancer.”

The Federal Communications commission, which maintains that all cell phones sold in the U.S. “are safe,” has also set a standard for the “specific absorption rate of radio frequency energy.  But, the commission does not require cell phone makers to divulge radiation levels.