"Keys, ID and cell phone - check!" These are often the thoughts going through a college student's mind as he or she leaves the dorm room. Cell phones have become a large part of college culture, and students are using them for more than just making calls: many of them have begun to rely heavily on text messaging.
AT&T first launched text messaging to the U.S. in 2001, and usage of text-messaging services has skyrocketed ever since: The New York Times reported earlier this month that Americans "sent 2.5 billion text messages a month in mid-2004, triple the number sent in mid-2002."
Tufts students are doing their part in contributing to that number. "I think it averages out to be about four a day for me," sophomore and self proclaimed "text-messaging addict" Leah Venti said. "If I have one thing to say and I don't want to get into a huge conversation, I'll [text message]."
Since text messaging is conducive to short, quick communication, junior Sarah Shea finds that "it's great for putting plans together. [Quick messages work best], such as '7 at Dewick' or something short like that."
Students also turn to text messaging when they are in a situation where it's easier to send a message than call. "I do it when I don't feel like calling, like when I'm in the library," sophomore Erica Adler said.
"I use it at parties, since people usually won't be able to hear a message," freshman Gregory Jette said.
When questioned, most students said that they do not text message in class because they do not want the teacher to catch them not paying attention.
Much of the teenage-to-twenty-something generation uses text messaging: a survey done by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that 38 percent of Internet-using teens have also sent text messages on cell phones. Despite text messaging's popularity, though, some students still prefer the good, old fashioned phone call.
"I feel like it takes too long to keep pushing the button," sophomore Harish Perkari said. "It is kind of inefficient."
"I usually do it on the weekends when I have the time to do nothing," Venti added.
In addition to the extra time keying in a message can take, this new form of digital communication also comes with a price tag. Here in the U.S., unless the cell phone plan has a specific package, text messages usually cost about ten cents to send and two cents to receive. As a result, many students find that their texting ends up costing them big bucks.
"When I receive [text messages], I don't like it," freshman Ketan Gajria said. "I feel like you could have just called and saved me the two cents."
Students who have been "burned" by their cell phone providers advise those who like to text message to take caution: though texting is often a convenient choice, unless they have a special plan, students may be spending a lot more than just a penny for their thoughts.
Freshman Evan Dreifuss found this out the hard way when his 16-year-old sister's extreme use of text messaging caused their father to remove the text messaging feature entirely from their family plan.
"She had, like, 600 messages, and they ended up costing around $60," Dreifuss said. "Now our entire phone plan doesn't have text messaging."
"It's cheaper for me to just call," junior Paige Cramer agreed.
For many students who returned from studying abroad, however, it was difficult to return to normal phone calling. "Everyone in Europe uses text messaging," junior Deepali Maheswari said. "It is cheaper and easier. A lot of plans even give you a huge number of free text messages."
In Europe, the text messaging frenzy has become so fevered that it even has a place in the record books - literally. The New York Times reported that last June, a 23-year-old student in Singapore broke the Guinness Book's text messaging record by typing '"the razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human" in just 43.66 seconds.
Though texting has yet to inspire U.S. students to such fast-fingered feats, some of them have special plans which allow them use of the feature for a minimal charge. "I use it to talk to my girlfriend and not use daytime minutes," Jette said.
"It's fine," he cautioned, "as long as you get the unlimited plan."
