Travis R. Martin, CPA, MBA

I fight on the front lines in a losing battle. My enemy is small in stature, no bigger than a deck of cards. It has the ability to stealthy move between pockets, purses, and palms. It invades my territory on a regular basis with an impenetrable wall of distraction.

I fight it everyday. Sometimes I win, but only because I’ve come to recognize certain tell-tale signs – like the soft glow of a blue light underneath a table. Once I see the enemy, it is mine – at least for a day.

My battleground is a high school classroom. My nemesis is the cell phone. And I’m not alone.

From California to Florida, school administrators are scrambling to develop plans that will prevent students from spending their high school years with their heads bowed toward the floor praying to the text messaging gods. For the most part these plans have done little to curb the rampant use of cell phones in the classroom.

Meanwhile, lawmakers have had their hands full trying to decide what to do about “sexting,” an emerging trend in which teenagers send racy messages and photos to one another with their cell phones.

Where will the next faceoff between adults and teenage cell phone users take place? My guess is at your local retail and fast food establishments.

In the last month, I’ve noticed two teenage “associates” at my friendly neighborhood Wal-Mart ducked away in far-flung corners of the store (no one will see me in the Christmas Clearance aisle!) tapping out messages on their cell phones.

The last time I went through the drive-thru at my local Taco Bell, I watched in disbelief as an employee carried on a text conversation while taking orders over her headphone. A second employee actually had to squeeze her way around the texter just to get to the window and hand out my food.

These are only two examples, but I do not think they are isolated incidents. For businesses that rely on teenagers to provide front-line service to customers, the rise of texting in the workplace could definitely be bad news.

Related posts:

1. Personal Finance Lesson: Cell Phone Comparison Shopping and Research
2. From the Cubicle to the Classroom
3. Obama Looks to Teachers to Save Country
4. Lessons from the Bush Leagues: Applying the Minor League Mindset to High School Athletics (Part I)
5. The Hidden Cost of School Accountability