2 imp3rsnl 4 u?
February 25, 2010
While some students consider texting effective, others find it distracting and detached
By Laura Peng
<lpeng@hilite.org>
Junior Mark Huber texts continuously throughout the day: during meals, between class periods and after school. With an unlimited number of text messages on his phone plan, Huber said he sends and receives a total of around 9,000 to 12,000 messages each month.
“Texting lets you talk to multiple people at the same time,” Huber said. “In our society today, people want to be in constant communication with everyone.”
Huber’s idea may not be far off. According to the Wireless Association, a nonprofit organization that specializes in research related to wireless communication, Americans sent just under 50 billion text messages each month in 2007. In 2008, however, the number more than doubled and reached 110 billion.
The Pew Research Center, a nonprofit research organization, released a study in December 2009 suggesting that teens prefer more rapid means of communication and drive the increase in text messaging statistics.
According to Brian Hayes, a journalism instructor at Ball State University, effective communication is not limited to face-to-face conversations.
“It depends on what you are trying to communicate and who you are trying to communicate with,” Hayes said via e-mail. “If you are looking for quick interpersonal communication, I think texting is best. It is easy and sort of impersonal. You know you will not get stuck in a 10-minute conversation with someone on the phone when you can just text short responses back and forth. Plus, it allows you to multitask fairly easily.”
Huber said the freedom to multitask while text messaging is one of its most convenient aspects. However, he said it can become a distraction both in class and at home.
“Especially when I’m in the middle of a conversation with someone, I check it as often as possible because I feel bad if I don’t respond right away,” Huber said, “but it does take a lot longer to finish my homework.”
Hayes said, “Texting can become a distraction depending on the situation. I know some parents who have ‘no texting zones’ in their homes, like at the dinner table.”
Nevertheless, Huber said he plans to continue his current habits, especially because text messaging allows him to keep in touch with friends without having to turn off the television or put down a textbook.
However, Huber said a few of his friends consider text messages impersonal and prefer he calls.
“I don’t think the conversations I have with my friends over text are more impersonal than in person,” he said. “Most of the time we talk about normal topics, but it can get deep. It depends on who you’re talking to and what the situation is.”
Junior Jeremy Weprich, who said he averages 5,000 text messages each month, said, “While I am a culprit of heavy texting habits, I still prefer phone conversations and face-to-face communication.”
While many students including Huber consider text messaging an effective means of communication in almost all situations, Weprich represents those who consider it inappropriate for serious conversations.
Weprich said, “When serious topics come up in a text, I often wonder why my friend chose not to tell me face-to-face. Texting something of heavy subject matter is easier than speaking it in person or over the phone because so much emotion and reaction is hidden. Sometimes, I’ll let them take the easy way out and I will continue the text conversation, but other times I call them in reply.”
Huber said he expects to decrease the number of text messages he uses in college, but for now, he plans to continue his current text messaging habits.
“With all of the free time college students get between classes, I’ll probably spend more time hanging out with my friends than texting them,” he said. “But for the rest of high school, the numbers will probably stay the same.”
Raising Responsibility
February 25, 2010
With increasing teen pregnancy rates and media portrayal, pregnant teens face skewed perceptions
By Darlene Pham
<dpham@hilite.org>
PLAY DATE: Junior Anna Redmond plays with her son, Carter. Redmond said she doesn’t approve of how the media portrays pregnant teens because it depicts the situation as glamorous. LIZZY GRUBBS / PHOTO
Like most teenagers, junior Anna Redmond had been free-spirited with no one to look after but herself. On September 14, 2008, however, the day after her sophomore Homecoming, Redmond received a phone call that would change the course of her life.
“(The father) called me and was like, ‘I think you’re pregnant’, and I was, like, ‘I don’t know about that,’ “she said. “(The pregnancy test) was positive, but it took a while to really understand it.”
Anna’s situation is far from unusual. According to a January report from the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research group in New York, the pregnancy rate among teenage girls has jumped for the first time after more than a decade of decline. The numbers have started to increase more than 3 percent in the mid-2000s after a period of decrease since the 1990s. Read more
Partyless Birthday
February 25, 2010
Instead of having birthday parties with friends, some students choose to avoid the hassle of money and planning by celebrating with family
By Audrey Bailey
<abailey@hilite.org>
She doesn’t send out embossed invitations or rent a party venue. Instead, junior Emily Bonham goes against what many perceive to be the normal idea of having large, planned birthday parties. Along with other students, Emily said she decides against big get-together’s and party planning in order to spend time with her family while also saving money.
FAMILY FESTIVITIES: Junior Emily Bonham (far right) is pictured celebrating her 16th birthday with her family last March. Instead of having a large birthday party like many other teens do, Bonham chose to spend the day with her relatives. EMILY BONHAM / SUBMITTED PHOTO
“I think money is probably an issue for most teens because they have to find a way to pay for food and entertainment. Their parents may be opposed to all this spending. Also, the birthday becomes less of a time to celebrate and more focused on all the stress of planning and paying for a party,” Emily said.
Although for her part Emily personally decides to spend her birthdays with relatives, other students simply cannot afford the expense of extravagant birthday parties. The hit MTV show, “My Super Sweet Sixteen,” portrays the “normal” birthday experience for a teen costing up to $200,000.
This show may represent the extreme, but there are other options for students who wish to throw an enjoyable birthday party. According to Pat Hecox, manager of Party Tree in Carmel, he and his employees see several parents and students come in to plan parties.
“We do a lot of birthday parties for high school students,” Hecox said.
Party Tree is a balloon and party store that sells supplies for special occasions and also helps with the planning. Party Tree has been in Carmel since 1990 and opened its second location in Fishers in 2005. The store has now become the largest retail party supply store in Indiana with over 18,000 square feet of products. For students who wish to throw a birthday party without spending the amount of money a teenager does on “My Super Sweet Sixteen,” Party Tree, according to Hecox, may be an option.
Along with the issues of money and family time, the age issue also comes to mind. According to Hecox, most Party Tree costumers are young moms and families. Even though high school students plan their sweet 16 with the store, most of the business comes from the younger age groups. Hecox said he still believes, however, that most high school students choose to have a partyof some sort, even though they do not formally plan them.
Emily said her main reason for celebrating with her family is due to the stress and time it takes to plan a party.
“I have had birthday parties with only family for all my life. I guess my parents would let me have a few friends over, but I don’t really want to have to deal with all the planning. I think it is easier and better to just invite family,” she said.
Emily’s mother, Carlene Bonham, said it has also been a personal decision regarding birthday parties. Since Emily’s grandparents and relatives live in different parts of Indiana, Mrs. Bonham said her birthday is an opportunity to get everyone together and have a good time.
“I thought Emily’s birthday would be a good way to get both sides of the family together and also celebrate Emily,” Mrs. Bonham said.
Although this is the case for her and her family, Emily said she agrees that the decision involving party or no party is determined by money. She said parents might be opposed to the spending involved with food, entertainment and other expenses.
According to Emily, having a birthday party with friends would be allowed; it is just the fact that she has become used to her birthday being a time to see relatives that would otherwise become distant. The fact that Emily’s birthday celebrations are tradition is not the only reason she said she chooses not to throw a large friend-oriented party, though expense and time also play a part.
“I think it is a big hassle to put together a major birthday party, especially if you do it every year. Instead, my birthday is an opportunity for my extended family to visit. That makes it more special and less stressful,” Emily said.
Big Name? Big Deal
January 29, 2010
Students discover generic food products have more to offer than discounted price tags
By Laura Peng
<lpeng@hilite.org>
CHIPS AHOY: Junior Alex Eaton compares prices between Meijer-brand chips and Lay’s-brand chips. Eaton said that he and his family prefer to buy generic brand food products over popular brand food products, especially because of generic brands’ lower prices. EMILY PUTERBAUGH / PHOTO
Gatorade. Häagen-Dazs. Honey Nut Cheerios. Junior Alex Eaton has seen the commercials that encourage viewers to purchase these brand-name products. But at the checkout line, he rings up generic sport drinks, ice creams and cereals instead.
“My family prefers generic products because they’re less expensive,” Eaton said. “But at the same time, we don’t think there’s much of a taste difference.”
According to Becky Graves, co-manager of a Kroger store in Carmel, there has been a significant increase in the sales of generic products since shoppers began steering away from more expensive name brands during the economic recession.
But Graves said private labels have more to offer than a heavier wallet and hopes shoppers will expel the misconception that brand-name products are of greater value.
“Compared to name brands, our private-label products are inexpensive, and that encourages consumers to purchase our products,” Graves said. “But purchasing generic products in order to save money does not necessarily sacrifice value. When shoppers see a price difference, it may mislead them into believing that there’s a difference in taste and quality when sometimes there really isn’t.”
As the economic recession—recently dubbed “The Great Recession” by several prominent news outlets— extends into the new decade, Eaton is one of many who have recently discovered that generic products are not necessarily less expensive due to a lack of quality.
According to Graves, marketing accounts for most of the price difference. Brand-name companies spend large amounts of money on advertising that factor into the cost consumers pay. And with the increase in sales of generic products, these companies are feeling the pinch and responding accordingly.
According to the New York Times, Kraft Foods recently launched its “Why Snackrifice?” campaign that discourages shoppers from sacrificing nutrition and quality when purchasing less expensive products, and Del Monte similarly began an ad campaign in response to an increase in private-label sales.
But Graves said private labels similar to Kroger continue to encourage shoppers to buy generic goods by lowering the prices of their products.
Graves said, “We increase allocations on our private label and try to condense what we can on the brand-name products. We sell a ton of chips and Big K because we were able to negotiate better prices so we can offer our customers better deals like the 10 for $10.”
Eaton said the price tag on a product typically determines what his family will purchase. “If I buy a 32-ounce Meijer-brand sport drink, it will be up to 50 cents cheaper than a Gatorade,” he said. “There is usually more of a range of flavors for brand name products like Gatorade, but buying the generic brand can save you a lot of money once all the savings add up.”
On the other hand, freshman Chloe Combs said she continues to purchase brand-name products including Breyers, Pop Tarts and Tylenol. Combs said she has tried a variety of generic products but rarely finds one she is willing to continue buying.
“Sometimes brand-name products are more expensive, but we trust them more because we don’t want to buy (a generic product) we’re going to throw away and waste money on,” Combs said.
But despite her preference for brand name products, Combs said she plans to buy more generic products when she goes to college in an effort to save money.
“It’s a good idea to buy generic products when you’re trying to save money,” Combs said. “But sometimes it’s worth buying a brand-name product if you can’t find a generic product you like. If you end up throwing it away, you don’t really save any money.”
As the economy continues to recover, both private labels and name brands are taking steps to increase the sales of their products. While brand-name companies invest in new advertising campaigns, private labels continue to promote generic brands with slogans including “Save Money, Live Better” by Walmart and “Higher Standards, Lower Prices” by Meijer.
Graves said, “You can see from our commercials that Kroger focuses on creating ‘More Value For the Way You Live.’ We want consumers to know we’re not lowering quality by lowering prices.”
Eaton said he plans to continue purchasing generic products after the recession and recommends others to buy the less expensive goods over brand-name products as well.
“You can like what you want,” he said. “But if you try them both, they’re really the same.”
Reading Between the Lines
January 29, 2010
Many students choose to read pre-written notes instead of actual books, which teachers discourage
By Emma Neukam
<eneukam@hilite.org>
Ever since he was a sophomore, senior Jae Han, like most students, has been assigned countless reading assignments for his classes. Yet he hasn’t actually read most of them.
Instead, Han said he chooses to read SparkNotes rather than the actual books he’s assigned to read.
“It shortens the chapter and it makes (books) a lot easier to understand,” Han said.
Han is just one of a large mass. An article published in the San Francisco Chronicle in 2007 indicated there has been a continual decrease in teens reading, and according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project that same year, SparkNotes was the fifth most visited educational and reference Web site. These statistics point to the fact that students are substituting pre-written notes, such as the ones found on SparkNotes, for books.
NOTE-WORTHY: Senior Jae Han reads the SparkNotes version of "Crime and Punishment" during SRT. Han said that he prefers reading Spark Notes instead of the actual book because it’s easier to understand. STEPHANIE COLEMAN / PHOTO
Students such as junior Theresa Lipp, however, said they choose not to use SparkNotes or CliffsNotes; instead Lipp said she actually reads the books she’s assigned, even if they’re difficult to understand.
“Some people use it as a supplement, but if I can’t figure it out, then I don’t think SparkNotes will help that much,” Lipp said.
English teacher Pat Southard said she thinks many students like Han go to SparkNotes when they are confused about literature or when they don’t have time to read.
“They’re either lazy or they’re overwhelmed with what they have to do and they go to SparkNotes,” Southard said. “That’s the last thing (students) want to do when (they) have to read a big, fat old book and (they’re) overwhelmed.”
Lipp, who is taking AP English Literature & Composition, said she thinks her classmates feel it’s acceptable to read SparkNotes in place of the books because the assessments given in class already contain excerpts from the books.
In fact, Lipp said her English teacher even encourages her class to use SparkNotes if they are confused about something in the book.
“My English teacher advised us to use SparkNotes because if we don’t understand something, it’s a good idea to use a different source,” Lipp said.
However, Southard said that even though some tests like the AP exams may provide excerpts from books, it is still necessary for students to read, but not only for better understanding.
“With a novel, (students) get the full flavor of the whole piece,” Southard said.
Besides getting “the full flavor of a novel,” Southard said she doesn’t trust SparkNotes on its own, because in some cases she said she’s found mistakes on the site.
“They just give basic plot and character information. They don’t help with critical thinking skills that readers use to analyze literature. They’re not even accurate,” she said.
The assessments Southard said she gives to her classes are very specific, and reading the books (and not simply their SparkNotes’ versions) is necessary to complete her assignments.
“I don’t discourage SparkNotes as a supplement, but they’re never a substitute. There’s no substitute for the original literature,” Southard said.
Han said he regrets reading the SparkNotes versions of reading assignments, because he said he thinks he would receive a better understanding of literature if he would’ve read the books. He said he doesn’t necessarily recommend that other students follow his example.
“I would say that when you can’t read (books), to use SparkNotes. But when you can read, then it helps more. Something might be in the book but not on SparkNotes,” Han said.
Even though it is easier for some students to read SparkNotes over the actual book, Lipp said it’s different for everyone.
Lipp said, “For some people, SparkNotes is helpful to use in addition to reading. You just have to see what works best for you.”
iPod? iThink Not
January 29, 2010
Despite the overwhelming popularity of the iPod, some students opt for a non-Apple mp3 player for the price and uniqueness
MP3 MADNESS: Junior Michelle Steele works on her homework in the hallway while listening to her non-iPod mp3 player. Steele said she doesn’t have an iPod, but that her mp3 player is just as good in terms of function and costs less than an iPod. SHOKHI GOEL / PHOTO
By Katie Walstrom and Meredith Boyd
<kwalstrom@hilite.org> <mboyd@hilite.org>
Instead of the common iPod, junior Michelle Steele owns a YP-Z5 Flash Player, an mp3 player made by Samsung. “It was a gift from my parents. I’d never had anything like it; I thought it was better than an iPod from the start,” Steele said.
In these times of financial distress, luxuries like mp3 players are out of reach for some students. But for others, like Steele, if they’re willing to look beyond the status appeal of the iPod, they find suitable alternatives in other products, minus the big iPod price tag. Read more
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