Youth Ministers are always looking for more effective ways to communicate with teens. There’s nothing better than a face-to-face conversation, but first, we need to use media to get us there. So what do you use to keep your youth group up-to-date on upcoming activities? Printed media? Too slow. Phone calls? Those can be time consuming. Email? The only reason most teens have an email address is for Facebook! Facebook and other social media tools are great, but require extra attention and time. Plus, if you aren’t friends, your message still won’t arrive. It’s time to fully harness the power of faxing. Just kidding. Let’s talk about text messaging!
I’m sure many of you already understand the importance of texting, but stick with me for a moment while I get everyone else up to speed. Most traditional communication methods require the recipient to check their mailbox, answer the phone or sit down at a computer. Not so with texting. Most teens carry a mobile phone with them at all times. On many mobile phones, text messages are automatically displayed to the recipient and must be dismissed in order to use other phone features. The recipient has almost no choice but to read your text.
The Pew Research Center1 confirms that texting is widespread amongst teens. Their research indicates that 72% of all American teens both own a cell phone and use text messaging. In addition, it is now the primary way that American teens communicate with one another. It’s hard to believe, but 54% of teens will text a friend daily, compared to just 33% who will speak with a friend face-to-face on a daily basis. You might even go so far as to call it an addiction; one in three teens sends more than 100 text messages a day! Clearly, texting is the most widely used communication tool among teens. In addition, text messages are sent and received within a matter of seconds, so texting is one of the quickest ways to spread the word. While the quality of text communication is debatable, it is almost guaranteed that your message will be read quickly. Yes, these short bursts of text that are slowly taking all of the vowels out of the English language can actually be useful.
However, there are a few challenges to be aware of when using your personal phone to text your youth group. How will youth sign up for your text updates? Are you comfortable giving out your personal cell phone number to everyone in the group? How will they unsubscribe? You could spend a lot of time managing your list of subscribers and telling your youth group not to text you back at 2:57am. Plus, if you lose your phone, you lose your ability to send texts. Furthermore, if you leave your church, your replacement will have to start from scratch.
- You sign up for the service and select a unique keyword. For example, you might choose “stjohnyouth”.
- Your youth manage their own subscription, by texting “stjohnyouth” to 313131. They can text “stop stjohnyouth” to 313131 to unsubscribe.
- You can send messages to anyone who has subscribed to your keyword, either from your computer or cell phone. You can even schedule messages to be sent at a later date or time. It’s a great way to let your youth know about an upcoming event, or that you’re canceling youth group because you’re going to the Justin Bieber concert.
- How can we help teens who are addicted to texting? It seems ironic that such a powerful communication tool can become an obsession that hinders more meaningful social interaction. Many teens (and adults) even text while driving, which is extremely dangerous (and illegal). I recently heard someone say, “Distraction is the new DUI.” Surely, texting can be destructive on and off the road. Obsessive or inappropriate text messaging can also indicate more deeply rooted issues.
- How can we help parents teach their teens to text responsibly? The Pew Research Center has identified mobile phone use as a major cause of conflict and anxiety between parents and teens. I’m sure many of you can corroborate this from your own experience.
- Should teachers and youth leaders ban texting? No doubt there are circumstances which make it appropriate to eliminate this distraction in order to facilitate social interaction. However, I think that our efforts will be more effective and long lasting if we focus on instructing teens to value social interaction and monitor their own texting habits voluntarily, as responsible young adults.
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