Texting and Risky Behavior

I recently read about some new research that shows teens who text over 120 times a day are more likely to have had sex or used alcohol and drugs.  While the research doesn't suggest they are directly related, there does seem to be some sort of link between excessive text messaging and risky behavior.  I'd like to think that texting became big when I was in high school 7 or 8 years ago.  Text messaging for sure had been around before that but new phones were being produced that made text messaging easier and more fun.  Kids would do it in class to take their minds off a boring teacher or subject.  I know first hand that most of those texts were not discussing tips on how to eat healthier or what after school clubs people were going to join to help the community.  Ha, more often than not those texts entailed plans for the weekend such as whose parents were away or what time they were going to be here or there.  Shocking for any parent to read this, I know.  But that was the reality, correction IS the reality, and it's only going to get worse as technology continues to develop and people get more and more sucked in.  Don't get me wrong, texting can serve an important purpose among teens like when they need a pickup or even to let their parents know where they are at all times.  However, texting succeeds extremely well in accomplishing one thing; removing us from reality.  Instead of having normal conversations with the human beings around us and interacting with REALITY, we feel the need to give our full attention to a screen whether it be a phone, computer, or television. 

In one of my other courses, students regularly have to present a project they've been working on.  Due to the liberal nature of the professor (who would never reprimand anyone for anything), students in the class feel free to bring their laptops in and from the very beginning of class tune out from everything else around them.  For the entire hour and 15 minutes the eyes of these students did not leave the screen and on top of that they had their phones in hand.   I found it funny (but really insanely rude) that when it came time for the routine round-of-applause after a student's presentation, they decided to clap anyway without removing their eyes from the screen and without having heard ANY of what the student presented.  What are we as a human race coming to?