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Dr. Christie's Internet Safety Guide: Text Messaging/IM

What is Text Messaging? What is Instant Messaging?

Text messaging, or texting, is the common term for sending short (160 characters or fewer) text messages from mobile phones or personal digital assistants.

Instant messaging (IM) is a form of real-time communication between two or more people based on typed text. The text is conveyed via computers connected over a network such as the Internet.

Both usually use slang or text speak to abbreviate common words or expressions in order to quicken conversations or to reduce keystrokes. The language has become universal, with well known expressions such as "lol"(laugh out loud) translated over to face to face (f2f) language.

Pitfalls and Perils

As in every age, kids today are adapting the English language to meet their needs for self-expression. To some, it's a creative twist on dialogue, and a new, harmless version of teen slang. But to many parents and teachers, it's the linguistic ruin of today's youth.

"This is really an extension of what teenagers have always done: recreate the language in their own image. But this new lingo combines writing and speaking to a degree that we've never seen before," says Neil Randall, an English professor at the University of Waterloo and author of "Lingo Online: A Report on the Language of the Keyboard Generation."

Possible dangers of using text messaging include:

• Traffic hazards caused by driving and texting simultaneously
• Embarrassment of responding inappropriately to a message you do not fully understand
• Loss of spelling and writing skills
• Breakdowns in communications and relationships because parents and teachers do not understand what their children/students is sending or reading
• Physical hazards of using fingers and thumbs frequently and repetitively

Possible dangers of using instant messaging include:

• Kids can instant message (IM) with strangers
• IM can be very addictive and time consuming and can get in the way of other activities
• IM can include online scams, identity theft, or predatory behavior
• IM has also become a target for unwelcome advertisements
• IM can contain offensive language or links to Web sites with inappropriate content

Potentials

Using text messaging and instant messaging yourself and staying informed about the latest trends and developments in each area is one way to help kids understand possible dangers of these popular communication media. Another approach is to model the positive uses of these tools in your classrooms. Listed below are a number of Internet resources, curricular examples, and hints for using these tools safely and effectively in K-12 settings.

Dr. Christie's Instant Messaging Guide

Hints for helping kids engage in IM safely:

• Encourage kids not to click on Web links sent by someone you don't know.
• Encourage kids to change their passwords regularly.
• Know your children's personal online computer name and what instant messaging programs they use.
• Know the online names of the friends that your child communicates with.
• Have frank, open conversations with your children about IM safety, including the dangers of talking with strangers over IM.
• Make sure your family's IM profiles do not contain personal information—especially phone numbers, addresses, photos, or anything that could connect your children with their IM identities.
• Show interest in your children's online life. Get to know their online friends the same way you'd get to know their neighborhood friends.