TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — If your child is under 10 and you both have a cell phone, chances are, you’ll get a text-message from him before you ever hear his voice through the earpiece.

Text messaging, which is sort of like e-mail sent through cell phones, is the biggest craze since the Hula-Hoop. According to research conducted by Great Britain’s mobile telecoms consultancy, Mobile Youth, 700,000 - or 20 percent - of primary school children own mobile phones. And the under-10s are the fastest-growing section of the country’s mobile phone market.

Robert Garza, a 24-year-old Tahlequah resident, sends approximately 5,000 text messages a month to one person: his girlfriend, Kelli Odeneal. Excluding weekends, when the two are presumably together, that’s approximately 250 messages per day, five days per week.

Not only that, this interview was conducted via text-messaging, although Garza was quicker at responding than the reporter (who, sadly enough, relies solely on the use of telephones, e-mail and Internet search engines to fulfill job responsibilities.)

“We text about what we’re going to have for dinner,” wrote Garza. “Also, since Kelli balances the checkbook, I let her know how much money I’ve withdrawn – you know, stuff like that.”

According to Garza, on the couple’s previous cell phone plan, texting was cheaper than burning those valuable minutes talking.

“Now, it’s just habit,” wrote Garza. “Sometimes we fall short of 5,000, which is what the plan we have now allows, but not very often.”

When Garza and Odeneal spend time together, they usually have little to say, having messaged each other off and on all day.

“We usually watch movies and stuff,” wrote Garza.

Garza and Odeneal are not unique. According to the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association Web site, 7.3 billion text messages were sent in June 2005, up 154 percent from the same time last year.

Leandre Renfro, a 20-year-old student at Northeastern State University, works for Cingular.

“We have a plan that includes 2,500 text messages for $19.99 per month,” said Renfro. “But the most popular is the 1,000 messages for $9.99.”

Renfro knows of several clients who habitually exceed their allotted texts per month.

“I see lots of angry parents every day,” said Renfro. “Usually after the second or third billing cycle with a lot of text messaging, the parents have the service disabled.”

Renfro used to text message a lot, but now uses it much less.

“I don’t know, I use it for quick questions and things like that,” said Renfro. “But I see students in class at college messaging all the time; too much, really.”

Phones can be set on “silent” so no tone comes through with the message. Recipients can simply sit with their phones in front of them and “wait for the screen to light up,” Renfro said.

A second new wave of digital technology is podcasting: Think of it as Tivo for your Ipod or MP3 player. The technology behind podcasting is relatively simple. By wrapping a few lines of computer code around MP3 files, Web site owners make it possible for people to subscribe to their audio programs using special software. The technology, called RSS for Really Simple Syndication, is the same as that which allows Internet users to subscribe to ‘blogs and other Internet content.

Subscribers can program software, such as PlayPod, to download podcasts of their own choosing. The software does all the hard work, finding and downloading podcasts. The subscriber then plugs in his or her Ipod or MP3 player to the computer, downloads it, and then listens to it at leisure, commercial-free.

Renfro has an Ipod with an accessory that allows her to listen to iTunes in her car.

“It cost about a hundred dollars,” said Renfro. “But it’s worth it to be able to listen to my music rather than the radio, or have to carry CDs with me.”

Renfro had never heard of podcasting, but once the process was explained, she believes it, too, will catch on.

A teen librarian in Cheshire, Conn., has already adopted the new technology to get young people to visit the library.

According to SchoolLibraryJournal.com, Sarah Morgan was hired last summer to make the town’s teen library programming come alive. Morgan said teens’ response has been “overwhelming,” and kids are racing to submit music, games and other reviews, as well as poems and creative writing to be broadcast on the new “cultural magazine program” set to roll out this winter.

“In Cheshire, there is a great demand for teen programs,” said Morgan. “There’s a group of teens here who are really tech-savvy and enthusiastic in new cutting edge stuff.”

Plus, the town high school hosts an active writers club, which Morgan decided to harness for the podcast.

“We want to get it up on iTunes,” said Morgan.



Teddye Snell writes for Tahlequah (Okla.) Daily Press.