November 26, 2006-- :)

Until now I thought that the expression Digital Divide describes the socioeconomic gap that separates low-income and more affluent computer owners—the more money you have the more likely it is that you will be computer literate and have access to the Internet and all its resources.

Now I am understanding that there is yet another gap. This one separates generations—young text messagers and the adults in their lives who are still trying to figure out how to program their cell phones for speed dialing.

If your kid sent you the following text message and you understand it, you can stop reading this and get back to your Christmas shopping;

soz i 4gt 2 fon u.i c u 2moz **

If it’s sort of Greek to you, plow on.

Cingular, which makes quite a lot of money from cell phone text messaging, is so concerned about this gap that they are about to offer interactive “texting bees” for adults to teach us how to communicate in this new way with the “younger generation.” (See NY Times article linked below.)

Cingular’s executive director for text messaging puts it this way, “”It’s about, ‘Do you realize how your kids communicate with their friends?’”

As good a question as this is, I also have a few, “OK, so kids are text messaging each other and they have invented a language of their own to do so; but since one reason they created text messaging slang is to keep their language private—i.e., to keep adults out of it—why then should it be our business to intrude? Didn’t we do a pre-electronic version of the same thing when we were kids so that we could carve out some private space for ourselves away from adult scrutiny? And why should we make such an effort to learn the ways of children when our responsibility includes helping them learn the ways of adults?”

We seem to want our children to be precocious while at the same time seeking to become more childish so we can “relate” to them as “friends.”

As the kids would say—GAL (“Get a life”).


** "Sorry I forgot to phone you. I will see you tomorrow”