Sherri Mabry Gordon - Using Technology: A How-To Guide

Wired In

Is your cell phone permanently attached to your hip? How many hours do you spend online weekly? Our devices have the ability to improve our lives and allow us to communicate faster than ever before, but it comes at a cost. Read up on the benefits and pitfalls that come with modern technology and learn to use your devices safely and considerately. Make sense of the role technology plays in your life with this informative how-to guide.

About the Author

Sherri Mabry Gordon is a former magazine editor and reporter who is currently a freelance author and educational writer. Among her previous books for Enslow Publishers, Inc., is Green and Clean Energy: What You Can Do.

Sixteen-year-old Ashley is a texting whiz. She does not even look at her cell phone while she taps out messages to her friends. With thirty to one hundred text messages coming in a days time, it is a good thing.

Ashley says most of her texting consists of checking in with friends about everything from what happened in math class to plans for the weekend. Her mom, Janet, sets limits on the cell phone but says she likes the idea of being able to contact her daughters at a moments notice.

Janet says:

I really like that my kids are so accessible. For example, the other day the school had a bomb threat, and Ashley called me from her cell phone as she was leaving the building. So if she didnt have that cell phone with her, I would have been frantic. I know we survived at school without a cell phone all day long, but... kids today have so much more to deal with and all the crazy stuff that goes on in school.

Like most teens her age, Ashleys cell phone is not her only gadget. She also sports an MP3 player from time to time and has her own laptop computer. She is part of a growing segment of technologically savvy teenagers who quickly recognize the benefits of new technologies and are embracing them. In fact, 84 percent of all teenagers own at least one personal media device such as a laptop computer, cell phone, or personal digital assistant (PDA), and 44 percent say they have two or more devices.

Teens like Ashley realize that technology can help them stay connected to others between face-to-face interactions, says Scott Campbell, an assistant professor at the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Michigan.

Technology is not changing teensthey are in control, they are taking advantage of the advances, he says.

T9, which stands for Text on 9 keys, is "predictive text" technology that can be used on cell phones. Other similar programs include iTap, eZiText and SureType. The goal of predictive text is to make it easier to type text messages. Once it is installed, words can be added to a text message by pressing a single key for each word. The result is easier and quicker texting.

Ultimately, quicker texting is accomplished by using a fast-access dictionary. As the technology becomes familiar with the words and phrases the user commonly types, it speeds up texting by offering the most frequently used words first. If the word it offers is not the one the user wants, he or she presses a predefined "next key" until the needed word is found.

Researchers believe tools like text messaging, instant messaging, e-mail, and social networking sites are popular among young people because being in close contact with their friends is important to teens like Ashley.

Perhaps Ashleys biggest passion is for her cell phone. A cell phone not only allows kids to stay connected, it also gives them the freedom they crave. No longer do they wait by the phone at home for a call from that special someone. Now they just give out their cell number and are on their way. In fact, many preteens cannot wait to get their own phones.

Its a rite of passage, says Daniel Neal, cofounder of kajeet, the first pay-as-you-go cell phone service for tweens. Its like the car keys when you were sixteen or seventeen. Now its when you get your first phone.

By far, the cell phone is a kids favorite luxury. One survey found that many young people ages ten to seventeen would give up the radio, video games, MP3 players, and television before giving up their cell phones.

Kids are getting cell phones at younger and younger ages.

Neal says part of the attraction is that cell phones help fill a need for connection, especially among kids with working moms or single parents. And if used properly, Neal says the cell phone can be a good communications tool. It helps families remain closer and involves parents in their kids activities.

Directions: Test your knowledge of proper cell phone use. Discover how much you really know about proper phone etiquette.

1. If you get a text message while in a restaurant or at a movie, what should you do?
   1. Wait until later. It is rude to read and reply to the message.
   2. Reply right away and then turn the phone off. It is rude not to respond immediately to the person sending the text message.
   3. Read the message, but respond later when there is a break.
2. What should you do if you are expecting an urgent cell phone call from your parents, but you have a meeting scheduled with a teacher or a coach?
   1. Ignore the call and let voice mail pick it up.
   2. Warn your teacher or coach you are expecting an urgent call from your parents and may need to briefly leave the meeting to answer if it comes through.
   3. Put your phone on vibrate. If the call comes in, explain that it is your parents and leave to take the call.
3. In which of the following places is it more acceptable to leave your cell phone on and take calls?
   1. In class at school
   2. At your friends house
   3. While at the movies
4. If you are visiting your girlfriends/boyfriends home for dinner, but are expecting a call regarding callbacks for a play you are auditioning for or a call from a college recruiter, how should you handle it?
   1. Tell the host (i.e., the parents) about the expected call. Then put the phone on vibrate.
   2. Keep the phone on and dont worry about it. Rules are relaxed in peoples homes.
   3. Put the phone on vibrate. If the call comes in, slip into the bathroom to take it.
5. If you are having an important meeting (such as one with a college recruiter) or an important dinner (like an awards banquet) and your cell rings, what should you do?
   1. Immediately turn off your phone.
   2. Ignore the call and let voice mail pick it up.
   3. Excuse yourself and take the call.

Answers: 1 a, 2 b, 3 b, 4 a, 5 a

Tally up how many questions you answered correctly and then look below to see how you fared.

45 Correct = Ms./Mr. Manners

Congratulations! You are an etiquette expert. Most likely, you rarely offend people with your cell phone usage. Keep up the good work!

23 Correct = Borderline Bonnie/Bob

Your manners are borderline. Sometimes you know just what to do or say when it comes to your cell phone. Other times you struggle with common courtesy. Carefully consider your surroundings and you will soon become an etiquette expert.