April 6th 2008
Texting Overdose
I was on a bus on my way to work and was seated beside a youngster with head bent, both hands holding a cell phone and with thumbs flying over the key pad. It was an hour ride to the office. The lad never once lifted his head from his cell phone. Although the incessant rhythmic clicking of the key pad is not unpleasant to the ear it still got on my nerves because I was mentally organizing my thoughts for a presentation that I was going to make.
Texting seems to be the most popular communication tool nowadays. It is the in thing for the young generation. It is a great way to keep in touch, to disseminate information, to get weather forecasts, news alerts, and even for entertainment where a person can join contests. Through texting a parent can be notified by school administrators regarding school closings due to emergencies such as bomb threats.
Texting for over an hour though is quite a feat. But some text addicts admitted to have sent over 100 text messages in one day. Aside from eye strain that could result from the prolonged viewing of the small screen of a cell phone, upper limb disorders could also occur. This is commonly known as the text message injury (TMI). Too much texting could result to painful wrist and fingers. This is due to the enlargement or swelling of tendons in the thumb and wrists.



