Digital Young

I think we all have seen young people texting messages about wherever they can: in the streets, in buses, during classes, in libraries and reading halls. When they have a moment, they text a message. Here’s a guy to a film festival who, in all that craziness, he was just sitting on a chair and writing SMS.

So, I have wondered, how, why all this practice? What is behind of it? This was my starting-question for a research that lasted around five years. I am in the fifth. And I continue to find new things which sometimes amaze me.

I started from the passive observation. SMS interested me. But I was asking myself: oke, SMS, but to whom and where and when? So, first, I narrowed my public; and as I was seeing all around me young people texting messages, as I was a Romanian literature highschool teacher, I thought, oke, why not SMS at young people? So, if we talk about outside use of mobile phone, in public spaces, we all know civility rules: where to use it, where not to use it etc. There are different levels in the degree of acceptance; for instance, there is a total acceptance (totally open spaces, like bus stops etc), tolerance (in narrower spaces, like public transportation), and total rejection (more intimate spaces or those in which specific activities take place, likestudy rooms, hospitals). Now, the reason for cell phone use rejection was the fact that it made noise. Loud ringing tones and again loud conversations disturb one of the most powerful civil rules of public spaces, and that is intimacy (double sided- from the one who’s speaking and the one who’s listening).

Now, that is one of the reasons for the emergence of SMS, or most likely for its acceptance in public sphere. But why do young people use it and why so often? I think you already know some reasons. You think that it is less expensive than a call, or that it is the way to coordinate daily activities. And you would be true. But this is something that you have in common with youngsters. From now on, maybe not anymore.

For young people, it is extremely important that SMS is always sent, so they have the guarantee that the recipient will receive the message. Losing signal, the other cannot answer, text message gets the recipient no matter what situation he/she would have. Therefore, teens do feel the need of security and comfort, and sending a message gives them this certainty. Another reason why young people prefer SMS is that it is a written proof. If they forget something, it is enough to read it again and here it is, the hour and the place of the meeting are there! But they do not read messages only if they forgot an useful information. They read messages also for their emotional and affective function. When a teen wants to remember a nice moment spent with a peer, that message reminds him of something that has happened. It’s like reading a letter, only it is reduced and smaller. Now, SMS are little; the space is of 160 characters. An idea, a feeling are put in that space. Reading the SMS, just like looking at a photo, brings back beautiful memories. Or, reading a funny message makes the user to smile, to feel better, and for the teens, to feel valued inside the peer group.

Maybe you haven’t thought about this reason when talking about teens: intimacy. This is why they really prefer SMS. Teenage is a very fragile time; teens are between the need for protection and the need for autonomy. And, inside of the peer group, between standing out (to rebel) and showing the real Me. As rules inside of group are very constraining (how to dress, what music to listen, what magazines to read) defining what is cool and what is not, the real Me is very rare showed when public is involved. For example, a very cool guy, who’s perceived as a tough one, would not like to be heard becoming sentimental into a conversation. Also, teens are very possessive when it comes to the subjects they talk to their friends. It’s like it is a whole mystery, nobody else should know what’s in there, it’s their universe and that’s all. They share messages between themselves; and even here, it depends on to who do you show your messages because tomorrow he/she could not be anymore your friend and could tell the others the content of your messages. Therefore, girls do share pretty much with their best friend (also a girl). Female friendship is well known as being in two. A rule of this friendship is to share everything with the best friend. Boys concerning, they might share messages, but only funny ones with their peer group. Intimacy of messages content is contextualized.

But this reason may be one of the most spectacular: the message functions also as a way to repair something or in situations of cowardice. That means that, when two teens are fighting or fear of solving something face to face, they prefer SMS. For instance, when they are afraid that parents might not be oke for them to stay until 2 o’clock in a bar, they send a message, because a call would mean to confront directly their parents. Between themselves, when appearing problems, peers in teen culture do send messages. In this way, they feel comfortable for “doing their job”, but they let the other person in peace, they give her/him a time to answer. For two friends, after a fight, is better to send a message and and not talk on the phone, because the message lets the other one a space to think and a quiet time.

Maybe you did not know this, but teens start to “talk” by SMS only with those people with whom they have a history, meaning that they have to know those persons before starting to chat by SMS. This information may relief parents who are to stressed if they should buy a phone to their kids or not. Eventually, they will do it, because they want to control their child.