GQ: Do text messaging and emails hurt interpersonal communication skills?

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By Ashley Campbell acampbell@nbcaugusta.com

With ever growing technology these days, text messaging and emailing seem to be the best way to communicate. But are email and text messaging hurting interpersonal communication skills?

NBC Augusta found one expert who says the answer is “yes.”

Lasharn Thomas said she loves to text.

"I text my daughter all day...all my friends, so I'm doing that all the time," said Thomas.

Thomas isn't the only one. According to a recent survey by Verizon Wireless of Georgians statewide, close to 50 percent of its customers send and receive more than 100 text messages a week.

Rachael Grant is an assistant manager for a Verizon store in Augusta.

Grant said, "The Augusta market alone has had an increase of 514 percent of text messaging."

That increase occurred during the past four years.

Text messaging and emails have become an increasing, modern and fast way of communication. It's not just teens who are hopping on the band wagon.

"In the Georgia market alone, it is said moms use this as a way to communicate with their kids," said Grant.

Because of the increase in text messaging and email, some experts, like Rick Pukis, an Associate Professor of Communications at Augusta State University, say texting could be affecting the way we interact.

“Text messaging has made us a very impersonal society today. They're not communicating, not using any facial expressions, like smiling so when they get back into a situation where they're talking to someone, they don't smile," said Pukis.

It's not just text messaging Pukis is worried about. He says emails are no exception.

"Someone can whip one out in thirty seconds and they're like, 'Ahh, I took care of this, I communicated. You didn't really communicate, you just shot out a one line sentence over to me and didn't really convey any thoughts," said Pukis.

But that's not stopping people from breaking out their cells or typing their thoughts, keeping cell phone companies doing their best to keep up with the supply and demand.

To keep up with that supply and demand, cell phone companies are offering deals for their customers.

For example, Verizon Wireless offers a few plans that include unlimited text messaging.

They're not alone. NBC Augusta looked at Alltel's Web site and they claim their "My Circle Plan" has gotten even better with unlimited text messaging.

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The following comments do not necessarily represent the views of NBC Augusta 26 | news, weather, sports, community, entertainment, shopping for Augusta, Georgia. Users have agreed to these terms and in doing so accept full responsibility for their comments. Moderation is limited.

Saturday, Jan 16 at 4:25 PM Doug Andereck wrote ...

Looking at the absolutely pathetic writing skills of the two previous comments which claimed texting has not harmed communication skills, it is quite obvious it has harmed the basic writing skills of our youth.

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Monday, Nov 30 at 10:39 PM Will B. wrote ...

I would definitely have to say that texting is affecting the way we communicate dangerously because effort does seem to be taken out of the picture quite a bit, and we all know what happens when we begin to reduce effort...it cheapens the communication, which shows in the abbreviated words, the mulitiple conversations we have at once, and with how popular it's become. If your goal is a global society this way, so be it, but expect the local community to become less and less personal.

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Sunday, Oct 11 at 7:25 PM john wrote ...

I think texting is degrading communication. It dumbs down communication to lifeless one liners which are left to interpretation. i hate shut it off of my cell phone

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Thursday, Feb 19 at 7:35 PM Austin Mack wrote ...

I'm doing a paper on how texting effects society and i would have to agree that texting does take away the ability to have facial expressions. when i was in 5th grade i was picked on and i could facialy express that i was sad. Now people say "Sad face" when someone says something negative toward them. but i also believe that texting is more effecient because you can have more than one connversation at a time.

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Friday, Jan 23 at 1:48 PM miriam verbarg wrote ...

I don't think that texting harms our comunication skills. It inables us to comunicate more. I long time ago before there were phones people were rarly able to comunicate with people. Only a few times a day like in the morning and in the night were you abele to have any kind of comunication. Now we also have a face to face comunication and we also have comunication throught the phone. I think we are evolving and learning how to comunicate in more ways.

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