College and high-school students find telephone calls unfulfilling and e-mail messages a bit cold. But they view text messaging and instant messaging as comfortable, authentic forms of communication, according to a pair of researchers at San Jose State University.
The professors’ Silicon Valley Cultures Project tracks how high-tech trends affect the lives of local families, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Among their findings: Teens and many twentysomethings feel they present a more authentic version of themselves in cellphone text messages than when they use the phones to talk. —Brock Read
