Welcome 2 to the wired world

Eighteen: the number of pages of the longest cell phone bill that junior Aynalem Geremew has received. Two hundred: the cost, in dollars, of that same bill. Thirteen: the most people that sophomore Nick Bilhimer has talked to on AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) at the same time.

Communication-loving Blazers such as these are part of the rapidly-expanding, technology-intensive social network in which cell phones and Instant Messaging programs are major recreational forces. According to The Washington Post, 25 percent of AIM's 36 million active screen names belong to people under 17 years old, and about one-third of 11- to 17-year-olds own cell phones. With cell phone and Internet companies offering a seemingly continuous stream of new communications features, many Blazers find it easy to get lured by and hooked on contemporary means of keeping in touch.

Getting closer or moving apart?

"I think in today's society, people tend to be very insecure about losing touch with their friends," says Bilhimer, who sees AIM as a great way to stay connected with friends. Since people using AIM—a free AOL service that allows people to chat on the Internet—can talk to multiple "buddies" at one time, Bilhimer sees Instant Messaging as a convenient alternative to the less-accommodating phone.

However, Bilhimer has also noticed that when using AIM, there is a fine line between maintaining relationships and destroying them, which he says people often cross when they "talk about everything there is to talk about" and then fizzle out. "There is such a thing as too much contact," Bilhimer says. "You have the potential to actually kill a relationship before it develops."

While Bilhimer considers AIM-induced communications frenzies to be detrimental to relationships, Rothman sees an AIM user's inability to convey emotion as a separate dilemma.

To compensate for lack of personal touch, people often use emoticons—"little smiley faces made out of text"—or asterisks surrounding certain phrases to convey emotions or actions, such as "‘*crying*' or ‘*sad*' or ‘*ecstatic*,'" says Rothman. "Or, ‘*chops head off with ax*,'" he says. "Just playing," he adds quickly, laughing.

Linguistically speaking

In the world of AIM, the laws of grammar are often lost in translation.
Dr. Cayo Gamber, Assistant Professor of Writing at George Washington University, sees in her students a shift to more informal writing that she attributes to online communication. "They use shortened words, no capital letters, a more informal tone," she says.

Blair teachers also notice a change in many of their students' writing as a result of Instant Messaging. Anne Cullen, who teaches English 9 and Communication Arts Program (CAP) Journalism, says that some of her students spell words phonetically and use abbreviations in their formal writing, such as writing "2 good 2 be tru" instead of "too good to be true."

Cullen believes that today's "MTV, fast-paced culture" is the culprit of the disintegration of proper syntax. "It's like we're living in a society of vanity license plates," she says.

"A place of ready distraction"

For Gamber, one of the most troubling implications of the "constant communication" craze is that today's communication-dependent culture fosters a certain degree of paranoia in which people assume that if someone is not constantly plugged in, something is wrong. Thus, "you're always in a place of ready distraction," Gamber says.

Some students admit that this state of being frequently preoccupied sometimes interferes with schoolwork. "It gets addictive, and it's a good way to procrastinate on your homework. When I finally disconnect myself, I usually have to start my homework at ten or eleven," says junior Idara Aquaowo. On a "good day," starting homework late often keeps her up until midnight; on a "bad day," she might not retire until 2:00 a.m.

Addiction with a capital A

Games, color animation, different ring tones, Internet access, video phones—junior Carin Cox lists these flashy new offerings from cell phone companies as some of the coolest options currently available.

However, according to Cox, such features can sometimes be so enticing that many students are reluctant to relinquish their phones during school hours, despite Blair's policy that cell phone use is prohibited before 3:00 p.m. and that students who violate the policy may have their phone confiscated.

Senior Scott Nguyen, who sends an average of 120 text messages per month and peaked at 174 last month, some of which he sent during class, remains un-phased by the school's cell phone policy because although teachers have asked him to put away his phone, they have yet to confiscate it. He compares in-class text messaging to passing notes, and says that he is but one of many Blazers who use their phones in class. "Almost everyone I know keeps their phone on during school and puts it on vibrate," he says.

Once out of school, Cox eagerly takes advantage of her free, post-9:00 p.m. minutes by spending three to four hours on her cell phone each night. She considers herself "addicted." "And I say that with an exclamation point and capital letters," she adds.