Texting and Teens

What is keeping teens up at night?青少年為什麼夜未眠？Do you send as many text messages as these teens do?你也和這些青少年一樣發送那麼多簡訊嗎？by Lisa Holl Chang.

When Greg Hardesty saw his December 2008 telephone bill, he was shocked. The 440-page bill listed 14,528 text messages from his daughter Reina’s cell phone. If Hardesty hadn’t had an unlimited texting plan, the bill would have cost almost $3,000. Hardesty's situation is not unique. Families all over America are waking up to the large number of text messages teens send. A 2009 study reported that the average teen sends 2,899 texts a month. They send text messages during class, while driving and in the middle of the night. Parents, teachers and doctors are becoming very concerned.

Teens and sleep
Only 20 percent of teens get the eight hours of sleep recommended by the National Sleep Foundation. Fifteen percent get as little as three to five hours a night. Experts believe technology-related distractions are causing teens to get less sleep than they should. One big distraction is texting - especially when teens wake up late at night to text.


The cost of staying connected
Teens send and receive thousands of messages to stay in constant contact with their friends. Texting makes them feel like they're in the loop. That need to stay connected often prevents teens from getting adequate sleep. Mikaela Espinoza, 17, used to sleep with her cell phone beside her bed. Eventually, her sleep became affected, especially on nights when she received texts at 3 a.m.

Soon she was having painful headaches during the day. Espinoza is not the only teen with sleep-related problems. Besides headaches, these teens also experience difficulty concentrating, bad moods and weak immune systems. Many teens fall asleep in class, and some even confess to falling asleep while driving.


Turning off the phone
After seeing their phone bill, Reina Hardesty's parents restricted Reina's use of her cell phone. Parents also set " texting curfews," a time after which no more texting is allowed. Many teens are discovering for themselves the benefits of turning off their phone at night. It's a good first step toward a good night's sleep.

Grammar
Hardesty's situation is not unique.
unique=very special.
Van Gogh's style is very unique.
subject + is not unique (talk about the situation is very common)
*Janet is a single mother of two and has to work three jobs in order to pay the bills, her situation is not unique.
*At age 9, Maggie was diagnosed with childhood diabetes, her problem is not unique in America.

Vocabulary
wake up- 清醒过来,醒过来.
wake up to something- 指意识到某种状况,事实 或重要事情.
*It's time for us to wake up to the fact that we need to solve the problem of global warming.
*She should wake up to the fact that her health condition is failing.
text (n)-text message .简讯,留言. message-信息.
*I got a text message from my brother saying he'll visit me next week.
text (v)- sending message through phone.传简讯
* My thumb is sore because I texted too much. 简讯传的太多,使我的大拇指肿痛.
distraction-使分心的事. distract-使分心
*Many can listen to music while working, but I find it a great distraction.
*Ellen decided to go to the library where she is free from distraction.
(be) in the loop-stay connection 参入其内或知情.. loop-圈圈 .
*Even though Janet is currently out on a business trip, she is in the loop on all our big decisions.
out of the loop- 是 in the loop 反义词,指不知情的,局外人的.
*I've been out of the loop on what has been happening in town since I moved.
adequate-足够的,适合的,合宜的,适当的
*Adequate lighting is crucial for students' learning. 足够适宜的光线(灯光)...是很重要的
*We have to make sure we have adequate food for our camping trip.足够的食物...
confess-承认或坦承(通常是指做了比较负面或不好的事)
confess to something-坦承..做了某事
*George confessed to sneaking out during work. 偷溜出去.
*Nick confessed to his parents that he stole money from them.
restriction - to limited the movement or acting for someone.
restrict - set a rule to limited someone to do something.

Chat Room
What is keeping teens up at night?
teens - young kids age from thirteen to nineteen. teenager-青少年
preteen- before teen age. age 9 to age 12.
tween- between preteen to teen. age 8 to age 12.
adolescent- young boys and girls, young kids, not limited age 13-19. 轻少年. 范围包括的最广.
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curfew- set a time for person to go home.宵禁.
I have an eleven o'clock curfew. 规定11点前必须回到家.
get grounded-被禁足,待在家不许出门.
you are grounded.