Like most teenagers, Dena Christofferson loved to send text messages to her friends. Unlike most teenagers, she racked up a $4,700 monthly phone bill doing so.
How did she do it? By sending and receiving 20,000 SMS messages in 30 days–that’s nearly 700 texts per day!
You may remember, Predicto Mobile made an offer to help pay the Christoffersen’s bill. Fortunately, the family has been able to successfully negotiate with their carrier. More importantly, this experience has taught Dena the importance of “safe texting.” Predicto Mobile is happy to donate $2,000 to her education fund, in exchange for her advice to fellow teens on responsible cell phone behavior. Here is what Dena had to say:
Hi, my name is Dena Christoffersen and I made a phone bill of $4,700.00 dollars by texting. Since this happened I have learned a lot. One thing I learned is that when your parents tell you not to do something, don’t do it. I was so distracted from texting in school that my grades became horrible. I was frustrated too, because I didn’t know what was going on in school, or understand what was happening with my grades. Texting isn’t the best thing in the world and it did get me in a lot of trouble, but that’s not the point. The point is I did it when I was not supposed to.
People, please text smart. Don’t be like me – or as my Dad now says, “don’t be a Dena.” Don’t text in school. I mean, if you get caught, you might get your phone taken away or detention, or even expelled for a day. If your grades looked like mine started to, you might also get your phone taken away. Either way you are setting yourself up for a trap. Maybe you haven’t thought about it? Well wake up, smell the coffee and think about what you are doing. Look at your grades, look at what you have learned and done since you’ve had your phone and started texting in school.
Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. “Who does this girl think she is?” Well you know what? I’ve been there, I’ve been caught and I’ve seen how terrible my grades were when I was texting during school. So take some advice and don’t text in school. Since my phone was smashed and I’ve been without it, I have learned a lot. My grades have gotten a lot better.
I am happy Verizon was willing to help us with the bill. When I do get my phone back, I will text smart. I won’t text in school, and I will make sure I have unlimited texting on our plan before I text. Also, I will ask my parents if it’s ok if I text!
Tags: 654654, cell phone, Dena Christofferson, education, game, phone bill, prediction, Predicto, Predicto Mobile, PredictoMobile, safe texting, SMS, teenager, text message, text messaging, vote
