The Texting Paradigm

            As you walk around one of the large shopping malls in Qatar, like the Villagio Mall or the City Center Mall, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a bunch of teenagers with walking with their heads bowed down, cradling something in their hands. If I didn’t know better, I would think that they were praying. But I do know better. Those teenagers are texting. They are connected to their friends who are miles away through a continuous exchange of information, no matter how insignificant.

            It is not uncommon to see a group of teenagers walking and texting without a word being uttered to each other. This confuses my understanding of the group dynamics. The “texters,” engrossed in their Blackberries occasionally look up only to see where they are walking and almost completely ignore each other except to decide on what movie to watch. Texting has become a dangerous game, at least in some cases that is. An increasing number of people text while driving and I would be lying if I said I didn't do it myself on more than one occasion.

            I myself use a Blackberry device. I find myself relying on the Broadcast messages that one person sends out to get my fix of the interesting things happening around me. Personally, I find these messages to be more valid than word-of-mouth communication. It is an underlying feeling that since this message was sent out to a number of people at the same time, it must be valid.

            With the modern technological innovations, word-of-mouth communication is evolving into the digital realm. Human beings are leaving an ever-increasing digital footprint. With more means of digital communication available at a lesser price and higher convenience, the people have gotten used to the information overload. They are constantly on the look out for more outlets to share their information, with social media networks fulfilling that need. 

            Taking a step back we observe a chicken and egg situation (albeit not so philosophical)–is the need for more means of sharing information creating the online world of social media or is the introduction of online media creating a need to share more information?