Thought this was an interesting story - the August 8, 2010 Wash Post article "Texting generation doesn't share boomers' taste for talk."
Check out the article for the good stuff, but here's a sample:
* Boomers in their mid-50s and early 60s are the only ones still yakking as they did when Ma Bell was America's communications queen. But 18- to 34-year-olds' average monthly voice minutes have plunged from about 1,200 to 900 in the past two years, according to research by Nielsen.
* Kevin Loker, 20, a rising junior at George Mason University, said he and his school friends rarely just call someone, for fear of being seen as rude or intrusive. First, they text to make an appointment to talk. "They'll write, 'Can I call you at such-and-such time?' " said Loker, executive editor of Connect2Mason.com, a student media site. "People want to be polite. I feel like, in general, people my age are not as quick on their feet to just talk on the phone."
* Ethan Seidel, rabbi of Tifereth Israel synagogue in the District, can't get many of his congregants younger than 35 on the telephone. Seidel, 52, often invites young, new members to his family's home for welcome dinners, but his gesture too often doesn't even merit return calls. "One member seemed only slightly apologetic for not returning the call," Seidel said. "I was floored by that. They say, 'I never answer the phone anymore.' "
