New research indicates that young adults who text a lot — more than 300 messages daily — have shallow personalities. Interviewed by WebMD, Paul Trapnell, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at the University of Winnipeg in Canada said, “Heavy texters do seem to be a little more materialistic and less concerned about inward growth.” He added that frequent texting is “weakly correlated with traits, goals, and attitudes that indicate low interest and engagement in reflective thought.” Those who texted very frequently were also more concerned about wealth and image than those who did not text as often. The study was conducted with Lisa Sinclair, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at the University of Winnipeg. The researchers surveyed more than 2,200 college psychology class students, ages 18 to 22, about their texting frequency. Data were collected from 2007 through 2011. “Although the overall size of the finding is small in absolute terms, the finding was very reliable across several years,” Trapnell concluded.
According to Canalys, vendors shipped 488 million smartphones in 2011, compared to 415 million client PCs. This is the first time that shipments of smartphones exceeded those of client PCs. Tablets accounted for 15 percent of all client PC shipments in 2011. “In 2011 we saw a fall in demand for netbooks, and slowing demand for notebooks and desktops as a direct result of rising interest in pads,” said Chris Jones, Canalys VP and principal analyst. “But pads have had negligible impact on smartphone volumes and markets across the globe have seen persistent and substantial growth through 2011.” However, Canalys expects to see smartphone market growth slow in 2012 as vendors exercise greater cost control and discipline, and put more focus on profitability. Apple ended the year as the leading smartphone vendor globally, followed by Samsung, Nokia and RIM. Android was the leading smartphone platform by volume for 2011, accounting for 49 percent of all devices, ahead of iOS with 19 percent share and Symbian with 16 percent.
According to a study by the National Science Board (NSB), the US lost 28 percent of its high-technology manufacturing jobs over the last decade, as the nation’s rapidly shrinking lead in science and technology in the global marketplace was accompanied by a toll on US high-tech jobs. The report found that China became the world leader in high-technology trade and, for the first time, Asia matched the US in R&D investments. It doesn’t appear that the situation will improve. According to an ASQ survey conducted online in December by Harris Interactive, while US teens rank some Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) related careers as offering the best chance of getting a job in the future, 67 percent of youth in grades 6-12 who are interested in pursuing a career in STEM say they are concerned about the obstacles they would face. The survey found that students are equally concerned with three main obstacles to pursuing a STEM career path:
•The cost and time to get a degree in STEM is too high compared to other subjects.
•Their grades in STEM subjects of math and science aren’t good enough.
•STEM degree careers involve too much work and studying compared to other careers.
The research found that US parents support their children in these concerns. And for many US teens, playing does seem to be a priority over studying. Of the students surveyed, 51 percent said they spend more time after school on the computer, browsing the Internet or playing games, than on schoolwork, such as studying and reading.
