Texting is THE communication tool for teens today. It's fast, it's discreet, you can communicate from anywhere (even in class if you want to) and it doesn't cost as much as talking on your mobile :-) But try persuading Mum or Dad to use it to keep in touch and U R facing an uphill battle :-( 
I text my Mum to let her know where I am but she's not keen on texting back. She says it's worse than trying to type but I've explained it's just a kind of shorthand - I even use text language to make notes at school. | | Will George, 15 |
And these are the people who are always hassling you about letting them know where you're going and what time you'll be home! As 15-year-old Will George says: "My Mum and Dad have both had mobiles for years, but wouldn't let me have one until my 15th birthday this year, which was a pain. "Now I text my Mum to let her know where I am but she's not keen on texting back. She says it's worse than trying to type but I've explained it's just a kind of shorthand - I even use text language to make notes at school. "As for my Dad, he doesn't even know how to access his messages, I've had to do it for him! "They just don't see it as a good way to communicate like teens do. "  | | Milly Dowler disappeared in March 2002 - now her parents use text to stay in touch with her sister |
Parents might not listen to you telling them text is a less embarrassing way of keeping tabs on you than constantly ringing your mobile - but perhaps they'll heed the message of murdered teenager Milly Dowler's family. Last week the Dowlers launched a safety campaign called Teach Your Mum To Text, aimed at keeping parents in touch with teens by mobile phone messaging. Milly, who was 13, disappeared on her way home from school in Surrey last year. Txt 4 newcomers | 2 - to, too
4 - for
@ - at
B - be
B/C - because
B4 - before
C - see
L8 - late
L8R - later
CU L8R - see you later
IC - I see
Pls - please
Ppl - people
R - Are, our
Thnq - thank you
Thru - through
Thx - thanks
U - you
UOK - You OK?
UR - your, you're
Wan2 - want to
W8 - wait
:-) - happy |
Her sister Gemma started teaching her mother how to send text messages after her parents, worried about her safety, keep calling her on her mobile. The girls' mother Sally Dowler, said: "When Milly first went missing and Gemma still wanted to go out and about, obviously it was quite difficult to let her go. "One way to get round it was to keep texting. It was a good way of keeping in touch." As part of Talking Teenagers the BBC is launching the Text Challenge to encourage parents to find new ways of communicating with their teenage kids. And BBC Radio Gloucestershire is hosting texting workshops in Gloucester city centre all day on Tuesday October 21 - turn up for the chance of winning a state-of-the-art mobile phone. »How to sign up for the Talking Teenagers Text Challenge Some parents, though, have mixed feelings about mobile phones and texting. Their concern? That like the internet, it's a form of communication that's difficult to supervise.  | | Jenny Leighton is learning to text to stay in touch with 14-year-old son Ed |
Jenny Leighton, mother of 14-year-old Ed, from Cam says: "I like the way that he can contact me and I can contact him at any time, and I know if he's in trouble, or gets stranded because a bus doesn't run, he can ring me and that's fine. "The other side of the coin is that he can communicate with people and people can communicate with him and I don't know either that it's happening in the first place or what's being said. "When I was a teenager we didn't even have a phone in the house and that is a difference.
It is useful because they can do it from anywhere and unobtrusively, they haven't got to worry about ringing numbers. Overall, I think it's a good thing, so I'm learning. | | Jenny Leighton |
"Suddenly he's got this private life that I don't want to trespass on - but at the same time I want to know what's going on because there might be something I could or should do to help him or protect him - or just because I feel nosy sometimes! But can Jenny text? "I'm learning. I'm a bit slow and they laugh at me, but we're getting there. "It is useful because they can do it from anywhere and they can do it unobtrusively, they haven't got to worry about ringing numbers. Overall, I think it's a good thing, so I'm learning." Now's the time to teach YOUR Mum and Dad to text - with the BBC's help! * The text message at the top of this page translates as: To text or not to text? You see, it's hard for adults to know what you're on about when you talk text. 
What text phrases or teen speak do you use or know? Tell us your views on this article or teen life in general and we'll publish them on BBC Gloucestershire. | 
