Persuasive Essay On Texting And Driving

You can’t turn your head these days without seeing someone texting away on their phone. Social communication is at an all-time high with all the constant advances in technology. The non-ceasing taps on the phone to communicate with others has become a normal habit for many Americans. It’s easy to infer how texting while driving has become an important issue. Take a look at all the ads on television lately; there have been several recent campaigns against texting while driving, with funding from big chain phone networks such as AT&T. One of which is the campaign called #x (hash-tag x), promoted by singer/actress, Demi Lovato. This campaign encourages the general public to practice safe driving habits and texting “#x” before driving, to inform …show more content…
Since 2004, texting has become accepted as a social norm; over 86% of Americans own a cellphone and 91% of mobile users keep their phones within arms distance at all times (Connectmogul,2013). Communication has been made into an easily accessible convenience for most to nearly all Americans. The social pressure to always be available has become so great that people put that need before their own safety. Studies have shown that 90% of people know texting and driving is dangerous, yet 54% of people admit to texting while driving. A psychological reason to explain why people commit to behaviors they know are dangerous is known as pluralistic ignorance. Pluralistic ignorance is the concept that reality applies to everyone but me. This behavior is what leads people to justifying their actions and living in the mentality that “it won’t happen to me”. Drivers convince themselves, subconsciously or not, that they are capable of multi-tasking. “In fact, studies have shown that people who have the most confidence that they can multitask are actually the worst at it” (Crothers,2014). “They don’t multitask more because they are better at it. They multitask more because they are sensation-seeking and impulsive. They rationalize their behavior with an inflated confidence in their multitasking abilities”

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