While You Were Texting
A small handful of US States (not as many as you might expect) have banned the use of handheld cell phones and mobile devices while driving. In California, this happened two years ago, after a train engineer caused an accident when he was texting while operating a train.
I'm not sure what the statistics are, but this seems like a problem that might crop up more among the younger generations. I've seen a few people in their thirties and forties texting on the road, but most older people see the inherent danger in taking that much attention off the road for the extended period of time required to compose a text message.
I'm wondering how things change when a generation of mobile natives--that is, kids who've grown up with smart phones, and have had them as long as they can remember--start getting their licenses. Time will tell just how big of problem this is.
In the 1970s, it was drunk driving. That's still a problem, but it was fought successfully in part by the designated driver campaign. Interestingly, these kinds of campaigns fall under the umbrella of marketing. Called social marketing (which is different than social media marketing), it's the creation of media campaigns to change behaviors of people...not to convince them to buy products, but instead to benefit those people or society as a whole. Think "Don't Mess With Texas" or of Woodsy Owl.
I think it's an excellent use of marketing as a force for good, and it's something that amateurs don't do nearly enough of. David Fincher got the attention of the uppers in Hollywood in the early 1980s when he created a TV commercial that featured a smoking fetus, highlighting the dangers of smoking for pregnant mothers. It worked because it was outrageous.
So, teens are texting while driving. There are probably worse problems around where you live. And now that we've got YouTube and almost anyone can create a quick 30-second spot, where are all the outrageous social marketing messages designed to influence for good?
I'm not sure what the statistics are, but this seems like a problem that might crop up more among the younger generations. I've seen a few people in their thirties and forties texting on the road, but most older people see the inherent danger in taking that much attention off the road for the extended period of time required to compose a text message.
I'm wondering how things change when a generation of mobile natives--that is, kids who've grown up with smart phones, and have had them as long as they can remember--start getting their licenses. Time will tell just how big of problem this is.
In the 1970s, it was drunk driving. That's still a problem, but it was fought successfully in part by the designated driver campaign. Interestingly, these kinds of campaigns fall under the umbrella of marketing. Called social marketing (which is different than social media marketing), it's the creation of media campaigns to change behaviors of people...not to convince them to buy products, but instead to benefit those people or society as a whole. Think "Don't Mess With Texas" or of Woodsy Owl.
I think it's an excellent use of marketing as a force for good, and it's something that amateurs don't do nearly enough of. David Fincher got the attention of the uppers in Hollywood in the early 1980s when he created a TV commercial that featured a smoking fetus, highlighting the dangers of smoking for pregnant mothers. It worked because it was outrageous.
So, teens are texting while driving. There are probably worse problems around where you live. And now that we've got YouTube and almost anyone can create a quick 30-second spot, where are all the outrageous social marketing messages designed to influence for good?