I know the look all too well. She looks like a deer caught in the headlights, like someone just told her her dog died, like she forgot to study for a major exam, like the floor dropped right out from under.
That’s the look on my daughter’s face when I tell her she needs to turn her phone off for the rest of the day. It’s the look of a texting addict.
Take the following interactive quiz to see if you’re a texting addict. The number of “correct” answers you receive indicates the level of your addiction. (Note: this quiz if for fun and information purposes only. No legal or medical personnel were consulted in the creation of this quiz and no claims are being made of its accuracy.)
Studies show the average teenager texts about 3,000 times a month. Eighty percent of teens and pre-teens own a cell phone. And the rate of texting has skyrocketed 600 percent in the last three years. Some admit they feel addicted to texting.
“If someone responds right away, you’re like, ‘Yah, they responded,’” said Sarah Matzkin, a texting teen. “But if someone responds like two to three hours later you’re like, ‘What’s going on?’”
Doctors say texting and the instant gratification of getting a text back floods the brain’s pleasure center with the mood-enchancing brain chemical dopamine.
“Neuro-imaging studies have shown that those kids who are texting have that area of the brain light up the same as an addict using heroin,” said brain specialist Dr. Michael Seyffert.
Might be something to think about. What if you chose to turn your phone off for an hour a day so you could think, be alone, pray, studying your Bible–something of benefit to you internally. What if you did that by choice, without Mom or Dad forcing you? I believe that if you chose to put a restriction like that upon yourself, it would mean far more to your personal growth than if your parents had to enforce it. But, speaking as a Mom, I sure am willing to make it happen in my home. How about you?
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