Tea, Nein!

I was reading an article in the Chicago Sun-Times last week about teenage texting obsession. It's assertion that teenage sex, drug use and general bad behavior has been compounded by the amount of text messages they send, got me thinking.

It got me thinking how when I was that age, that absolutely no one my age, NO ONE, was using drugs, having sex, or getting into trouble. The only conclusion that I can arrive to is that texting and probably the internet has brought all this about since those tender, innocent years of my youth. There must be some sort of connection of using their fingers to type intimate details about day to day life to general misbehavior. Kind of like the Carl Jung psych test that links water to your sex life.

This reading was done at a franchise coffee joint off of State St. in downtown Chicago. Not the one you are thinking of...one of the ones that have "healthy" skillets and panini to go with your overpriced coffee. God help you if you're the one who orders tea here. I mean, don't you know that today's selection is a single sourced, direct trade, full-bodied, cooling finish with a hint of spiced rum? Why the details? That's the way I write and maybe you just pay attention to these things. Moving on... As I read this, I happened to look around the room and take a rough count of how many younger people were in this particular purveyor of smiles and poorly designed plastic lids. Seriously...why is Dunkin Donuts the only one to get that lid right? Twelve. This is just simply a judgment based on looks and what they are wearing mind you, so I may have mistaken a few college aged girls for much, much younger(to their despise) and some much, much youngers for college aged(to their pleasure). Seven of these specimens were currently on their phones, more than likely texting. More than likely about all the sex, drugs and crime they were gonna get down with after they've had their skillet.

In the article, they presented these statistics for various texters and how much they text in a day and if they feel it's a problem. Most of subjects with high numbers felt that it was definitely a problem and that they did it far too much. The moderate numbers didn't see a problem. They sited time saving as the most common upside to texting versus calling or tapping someone on the shoulder and talking with their mouth. The low numbers didn't care either way, as low numbers are expected to. What do the numbers mean? Well...draw your own conclusions: the high numbers are whores and dirty dudes, but can't change because it's all they know, the moderates are embracing the streamlined process of being a bad person and the lows are all "whatever" about it.

I guess to blame should be the parents, who have allowed their teenagers to do things based on popularity. When I was a kid, I didn't have a cell phone. Didn't have a Facebook page. Didn't have a pen to write letters with. A telephone to call with. A bike to ride, a bed to sleep in, food on the table, school, a car, or friends to corrupt my delicate sense of right and wrong. Good thing too, because who else would be here to point out the lack of common decency among the new crop?

Just to note: I am a texter, and average about 25 outbound a day(more if it's complaining about these morally bankrupt children), but clearly because of my age, I'm exempt from any sort of scrutiny.