College students may realize that texting in the
shower or at a funeral is inappropriate, but many do
it anyway, according to Penn State psychologists.
"We have looked at inappropriate texting behavior --
texting while driving, for instance -- before, but
what we wanted to find out is whether the people who
are engaging in these forms of behavior even know
whether or not it is the right thing to do," said
Marissa Harrison, associate professor of psychology,
Penn State Harrisburg.
The researchers suggest that college students are
not necessarily trying to create new norms in
texting behaviors, but that breaking with these
norms is just too tempting for them in most cases.
When they receive texts, the temptation to check
their texts and send messages back is much greater
than the urge to pay attention to their present
situation.
In a survey, college students admitted to texting
during funerals, in the shower, during sex and while
using the toilet, according to Harrison, who worked
with Jessica M. Salley, a graduate student, and
Christine E. Bealing, an undergraduate student, both
in psychology.
While most participants said they considered texting
while taking a shower to be socially unacceptable,
more than 34 percent said they did it anyway. Most
agreed that texting during a religious service or
while reciting the Pledge of Allegiance was wrong,
but more than 22 percent texted during services and
about 11 percent said they texted during the pledge.
Approximately 7.4 percent texted while having sex,
even though most admitted that it was wrong.
Some behaviors -- such as texting in the bathroom,
or while eating -- are becoming more acceptable for
college students.
"Whereas some people may deem this odd, most college
students agree that eating and toilet texts are the
new normal," the researchers said.
Trained as an evolutionary psychologist, Harrison
suggests that the forces of natural selection may
play a part in creating this behavior. The buzzes
and flashing lights of texting devices may signal
opportunities or threats that cause people to pay
less attention to their present environment and
consider the future.
"We are all programmed to notice movement and
change, so maybe those buzzes and bells of texting,
just like certain sounds that used to indicate the
charging of a predator, for example, reinforce the
need to find out what is going on," said Harrison.
The researchers, who released their findings in a
recent issue of the Social Science Journal, asked
152 college age students to fill out a 70-question
survey on their attitudes toward texting in various
situations and their general texting habits.
Many of the college students in the survey
frequently communicate with texting. A little more
than 34 percent of the participants said they sent
and received 100 or more text messages each day.
Harrison said that future research will look at how
other age groups -- such as high school students --
handle the temptation to text when it is
inappropriate.
"College students tend to be heavy text users, so it
might be interesting to see if this holds up across
other groups that may or may not use texting as
often," Harrison said.
For more information
Texting too tempting for college students even when
inappropriate
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