TITLE

When Girls Compulsively Text, Their Grades Suffer

DESCRIPTION

This study examined texting behaviors in boys and girls in 8th to 11th grade in a rural Midwestern American town.  The study found that there were no gender difference in the frequency/amount of texting.  However, girls self-reported more compulsive texting and experiencing more negative emotions if texting were prevented.  “Compulsive texting is more complex than frequency of texting,” said lead author Kelly Lister-Landman…It involves trying and failing to cut back on texting, becoming defensive when challenged about the behavior, and feeling frustrated when one can’t do it.”  Further, there was more evidence that girls’ rather than boys’ grades were negatively affected by compulsive texting.

SOURCE

Time, October 13, 2015, by Tanya Basu

Original Source:

Lister-Landman, K. M., Domoff, S. E., & Dubow, E. F. (2015, October 5). The Role of Compulsive Texting in Adolescents’ Academic Functioning.
Psychology of Popular Media Culture. Advance online publication.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000100

LINK TO RESOURCE

http://time.com/4061560/compulsive-texting-boys-girls/

Original Source:

http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/ppm-ppm0000100.pdf

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

•Discussion:  begin with a class survey (for engagement) of how many? and how often the students text?
•Discussion:  how many would have negative feelings if prevented from texting?
•How many have difficulty actually turning off their phones?  (not simply silent or vibrate)
•How many feel (self-report) that their texting behavior interferes with their studying?
•Discuss the difference between “compulsion” and “addiction.”