The Dark Side of Texting

Writing mini e-mails to your friends via cell phone seems pretty harmless right? Texting seems like a harmless activity, but texting has many dark sides. However, it causes lots of problems, many of them being severe. Texting can be an enjoyable way of communication, but you have to make sure you do not abuse the power of text messaging.

A deadly train collision occurred outside of Los Angeles because the train operator was text messaging. Due to this deadly accident, texting is now banned for anyone at the controls of a moving train. It is also dangerous to text while driving. Many teenagers are causing accidents because of this form of communication. This causes them not to pay attention and gives them the opportunity to harm themselves and possibly others.

Texting in school has also become a very severe problem. There are many ways that students suffer from using cell phones in school. One example is that they could use this form of technology to cheat on a test or share answers with other students. Another problem is that students get distracted from texting during class, and this causes them not to pay attention and could result in bad grades.

Another incident that recently happened, occurred in Davenport, Florida on a busy Polk County highway. Four teenagers were trying to cross the busy highway, and three of the teenagers saw an approaching car and decided not to cross. While three of them stopped, the other one wasn’t paying attention because he was texting, and he continued to cross. Because of this, he got hit by the approaching car, and the accident resulted in death for the fourteen year old boy.

Even though there’s no possible way we can stop people from texting dangerously, there are things we can do to be more careful. All it takes is making sure you text at appropriate times and always be aware of your surroundings.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/19/us/19crash.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

 

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2008/09/18/20080918netrails0918.html

 

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_10528130

 

http://www.abcactionnews.com/mostpopular/story.aspx?content_id=d710c0d7-5e6d-4860-b514-0d5b5ba3af43

 

 

Britney Spears: New & Improved

On September 7, 2008, the MTV Video Music Awards were held in Los Angeles, California. There were many awards given out and a variety of lucky winners. However, there was one person who achieved more than all. The big winner of the night was believe it or not, Britney Spears. Not only did Spears open the Video Music Awards with a short speech, she was also nominated for three different awards which included best female video, best pop video, and video of the year. Surprisingly, Spears came out on top and won the award for all three categories in which she was nominated. Everyone was impressed with Spears’ amazing new body and her stunning wardrobe choice. This is definitely the year for Spears to make an amazing comeback.

 

The only major stumble that Britney Spears faced during the VMAs was during her opening. She stumbled on saying “25^th anniversary,” and it came out as “25^th aniversity.” So this alone tells us that she has made major improvements in just a year.

 

In my honest opinion, I don’t feel like Britney Spears deserved winning those awards. I think the only reason she won the awards is because people felt bad for her for the past year and the past Video Music Awards. I am, however, impressed with the progress that Spears made over the past year. She has definitely matured and returned back to her normal self, but I still feel that she was not deserving of the awards. I feel like the other nominees were much more deserving because I feel they are more talented than Britney Spears.

 

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20224095,00.html