It seems almost counterproductive to congratulate a teen on the fact that they are the fastest texter in the nation. But I guess if it comes with a $50,000 reward, it is hard to find the bad in it.
I should also be proud that this dubious award was given to a fellow Wisconsinite, Austin Wierschke. This is actually the second year in a row that the 17-year-old has received the honor, with prize money now coming to $100,000.
And you have to give him thumbs up (pun intended) for his decision to use that money to pay for college. At least he has some positive aspirations, despite the strange idea of rewarding someone for texting fast.
There were four different challenges in this competition. Contestants had to spell out text abbreviations (no shorthand allowed). They had to text while blind-folded.
But it gets even better. They also participated in what is called “text blitz.” They were shown phrases for a limited amount of time, in which they had to copy (as fast as they can with accuracy).
To make it even more complicated, they were also given jumbled words, which they had to figure out and text. So there were definitely some interesting challenges in the contest.
And here I was impressed over the fact that my daughter is able to text without looking. It was just last weekend we were enjoying lunch together at Panera Bread when her phone vibrated.
We were talking and without missing a beat, she looked up at me yet her thumbs were flying. I even commented to her about how impressed I was.
Less impressive however, is the fact that last month she managed to hit a high volume of texting. She sent or received 4,000 text messages.
Too bad you can’t win a reward for that.
Related Articles:
Bullying via Text Messaging on the Rise
Texting Your Child While in School
Photo by digi in stock.xchng