Instant Messaging
Páginas: 3 (733 palabras)
Publicado: 6 de noviembre de 2012
Instant messaging, family style
Wendy Gardner types in an instant message and sends it. The data travels 600 miles from her living room to a server in another part of the country, and thento her son Andrew’s computer –right in the next room.
-Want some dinner’
-How about ordering a pizza? comes the reply.
Instant messaging (IM), long a part of teenagers’ lives, isbecoming more and more a part of family life in the United States as well. And although it may seem lazy to send computer messages instead of getting up and going to the next room, some psychologists saythat IM has got a positive role to play. In many cases, it helps to break down barriers between the generations.
According to Elisheva Gross, a psychologist at the University of California,IM is the territory of the young, but “may be a way for parents to communicate in a language and in a space that their children are more comfortable with”. One mother said, “it’s much less intensethan eye-to-eye contact and nobody sees you turning red or hears the emotion in your voice”.
In addition, instant messages have got the advantage of not actually being instant. You have thetime to think about what you’ve said, and perhaps make it gentler, before you send the message. As one teenager says, “You know all the times you wish you’d counted to ten before you said something?With IM, you have a built-in counting to ten”.
However, some teenagers are against the idea of sharing IM with their parents. “I wouldn’t want my mum and dad on my buddy list!” says one.Furthermore, says one expert, “People can be less reserved online, which can often make problems worse”
In any case, while messaging can be helpful, Experts warn that it should not becomethe principal way of communicating in the family. In the end, a message is no substitute for a warm hug and an understanding smile from a parent.
ANSWER THE QUESTIONS ACCORDING TO THE...
Wendy Gardner types in an instant message and sends it. The data travels 600 miles from her living room to a server in another part of the country, and thento her son Andrew’s computer –right in the next room.
-Want some dinner’
-How about ordering a pizza? comes the reply.
Instant messaging (IM), long a part of teenagers’ lives, isbecoming more and more a part of family life in the United States as well. And although it may seem lazy to send computer messages instead of getting up and going to the next room, some psychologists saythat IM has got a positive role to play. In many cases, it helps to break down barriers between the generations.
According to Elisheva Gross, a psychologist at the University of California,IM is the territory of the young, but “may be a way for parents to communicate in a language and in a space that their children are more comfortable with”. One mother said, “it’s much less intensethan eye-to-eye contact and nobody sees you turning red or hears the emotion in your voice”.
In addition, instant messages have got the advantage of not actually being instant. You have thetime to think about what you’ve said, and perhaps make it gentler, before you send the message. As one teenager says, “You know all the times you wish you’d counted to ten before you said something?With IM, you have a built-in counting to ten”.
However, some teenagers are against the idea of sharing IM with their parents. “I wouldn’t want my mum and dad on my buddy list!” says one.Furthermore, says one expert, “People can be less reserved online, which can often make problems worse”
In any case, while messaging can be helpful, Experts warn that it should not becomethe principal way of communicating in the family. In the end, a message is no substitute for a warm hug and an understanding smile from a parent.
ANSWER THE QUESTIONS ACCORDING TO THE...
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