Watch this video.
In a second, I'll get to the teen texting part, but first, I have to say that without the existence of the internet and her Myspace presence (which led me to this video), my adoration of Amanda Palmer would not exist. But since the internet and Myspace do exist, I have adoration for Amanda Palmer, because her constant creative energy, captured on audio and video, is inspiring to me.
The idea that teenage girls are so excited about Panic! at the Disco, they can't stop texting during the show, is a little upsetting. It is almost beautifully upsetting. Upsetting in a very vivid way. Someone, somewhere, is mourning the loss of their vision which they have exchanged for the screen.
But is this a new manifestation of teenage* emotion, like AP suggests, being excited and showing it through reflection to others? Or is it another manifestation of a core desire of teenagers, which is not necessarily to enjoy a thing for the sake of the thing, but to "enjoy" a thing as a method of reaching another teen? In this instance, maybe the cell phone is like an old-school fire alarm that would spray paint the hand that pulled it. All those blue-handed teenagers out there, betraying their true desire at the Panic! show: not to enjoy the music, but to relate to friends via the music.
I like that. We blue-handed people exhibit our vulnerability by text messaging in public, acknowledging that we desire something that hasn't materialized next to us, willingly distracting ourselves with gadgets that tunnel through the physical barrier.
In this way, texting both unites and divides us with our fellow teenagers.
*In this context, "teenage" is to be politely used instead of "human"
