By Katherine Rutkowski

Last week my 19-year old daughter Emma had appendicitis. When the emergency room doctor broke the news at 3:00 a.m. about the pending surgery she asked if there were any questions. Generation Y Emma thought for a second then said “does this place have WiFi?” She’s taking a summer class at a community college and the final in-class essay was due within hours so she had stored an extensive outline on her prized Mac notebook. After another bout of pain, she had second thoughts and asked if I would use my cell phone to call a professor in the same department and relay a request for a temporary incomplete. Of course the only pause in her non-stop Blackberry texting occurred when she was wheeled off to the operating room. Once again, Technology covers all bases.

For the record, at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, VA, cell phones are only allowed in waiting areas and in the Food Court. Emma received excellent care and now is on the mend. Her texting did not interfere with any medical equipment.

Watch for news of an upcoming CEA consumer research study that looks at teen and social networking, scheduled for fall 2009.

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This entry was posted on Friday, July 10th, 2009 at 10:54 am and is filed under Consumer Research, Wireless Communications. Reply to this post, or trackback from your own site. Follow responses to this entry through the comments RSS feed.