The Consequences You Bring on Others by Texting
In Randy Cohen's essay, "When Texting Is Wrong," he addresses to light the problems with texting at the wrong times. More than just texting and driving, but about texting during times that used to be exclusively face to face and how it damages our interactions with one another. The danger is not in damaging the texter or their interactions; that is just a consequence for them. But when someone's negligence leads to the harm, either physical or emotional of someone else, that is wrong and unethical. His argument that our texting and negligence can harm others, both emotionally and physically, is a valid one.
Texting during social interactions is a more recent occurrence which often has no set …show more content…
That is typically seen as a just and inconsequential. The problem comes when the texter causes harm to others, as Cohen says, "When you injure yourself, that is unfortunate; when you injure someone else, you are unethical."(105) After all, they made that choice. What cannot be acceptable is when they cause consequences for others. Due to the inconsistency of social acceptability, it can be difficult to tell when texting will be a problem for others. If texting causes anyone to miss details in a business meeting, it could cause several problems for the whole operation. The difficult decision really comes with texting during social interactions. For example, if someone starts texting during lunch with friends, is it a problem? Isn't it just like talking to another person at the table? Well, not quite. Imagine sitting at lunch with some friends, and two of them just keep whispering to each other. How annoying would that get? Not only that, but whenever the group says something, they are going to be the ones who sit up and say, "Huh, what'd you say?" As Cohen says, "Even a routine conversation demands continuity and the focus of attention."(104) People's ignorance and constant texting can be detrimental to a group conversation and deprive others of …show more content…
There is a reason why it is illegal in 38 states for civilian drivers to text and drive. Every second a person is texting, their eyes and attention are not on the road, and every second that their full attention is not on the road, anything could happen. Not only do they have to drive responsibly, but they must be prepared to react to the unexpected, a child running across the street, a car pulling out of a parking spot quickly. Anything could happen, and even if it wasn't technically the driver's fault, these fatal accidents could have been completely avoided if the driver had been paying
In Randy Cohen's essay, "When Texting Is Wrong," he addresses to light the problems with texting at the wrong times. More than just texting and driving, but about texting during times that used to be exclusively face to face and how it damages our interactions with one another. The danger is not in damaging the texter or their interactions; that is just a consequence for them. But when someone's negligence leads to the harm, either physical or emotional of someone else, that is wrong and unethical. His argument that our texting and negligence can harm others, both emotionally and physically, is a valid one.
Texting during social interactions is a more recent occurrence which often has no set …show more content…
That is typically seen as a just and inconsequential. The problem comes when the texter causes harm to others, as Cohen says, "When you injure yourself, that is unfortunate; when you injure someone else, you are unethical."(105) After all, they made that choice. What cannot be acceptable is when they cause consequences for others. Due to the inconsistency of social acceptability, it can be difficult to tell when texting will be a problem for others. If texting causes anyone to miss details in a business meeting, it could cause several problems for the whole operation. The difficult decision really comes with texting during social interactions. For example, if someone starts texting during lunch with friends, is it a problem? Isn't it just like talking to another person at the table? Well, not quite. Imagine sitting at lunch with some friends, and two of them just keep whispering to each other. How annoying would that get? Not only that, but whenever the group says something, they are going to be the ones who sit up and say, "Huh, what'd you say?" As Cohen says, "Even a routine conversation demands continuity and the focus of attention."(104) People's ignorance and constant texting can be detrimental to a group conversation and deprive others of …show more content…
There is a reason why it is illegal in 38 states for civilian drivers to text and drive. Every second a person is texting, their eyes and attention are not on the road, and every second that their full attention is not on the road, anything could happen. Not only do they have to drive responsibly, but they must be prepared to react to the unexpected, a child running across the street, a car pulling out of a parking spot quickly. Anything could happen, and even if it wasn't technically the driver's fault, these fatal accidents could have been completely avoided if the driver had been paying