OTOH, texting has its downsides, too, and perhaps it's these problems that create all the interest. Texters gripe that they are getting more spam texts than ever than ever before. Teachers complain that students'test scores are getting worse because teens spend more time texting than they should. Some also say that texting encourages bad grammar and punctuation
and IMO, that's true. Students don't realize they shouldn't write their essays in "textese," and they get low grades as a result. Many young people are sleeping less because they wake up in the night every time a text pops up on their phone. Others have injuries to their hand and thumbs from the constant texting.