Deep in the heart of texters: what the habit tells us
by Russell Shaw
By now, you may have read the story of Sofia Rubenstein, the Washington, D.C. high school junior who used 6,807 text messages, which, at a rate of 15 cents apiece for most of them, pushed the family’s Verizon Wireless bill to more than $1,100 for the month.
The tale of woe first appeared in the Washington Post, but now is a popular discussion thread on Slashdot.
OK, that’s Sofia’s choice.
Yet while it may well be that the $1,100 won’t cause significant financial disruption for Sofia, this 15 cents-per-text could really add up to be a burden for some families.
Of course there are alternatives- $10 or $15 a month for all-you-can-text plans. But still, I see this as a transitory phase.
Cell carriers ought to recognize there ar two more profound issues here. One is a business issue for the cell carriers and their subscribers. The other is for society as a whole.
First, for the carriers- why charge extra for texting at all? I see this business model going away in favor of a tiered approach. Maybe you get up to 300 texts a month (hey that’s 10 per day) included in your plan, with subsequent surcharges based on tiers.
Second, for society. What does it say about compulsive texters that they feel the need to send thousands of text messages per month? Do you really need to tell every single one of your friends what you are doing at that particular second, and where you want to meet up later for a sandwich, pop, movie, concert, etc.?
Hey how about Twitter, or actually picking up the phone and calling the person(s) you want to make plans with?
