Throwing ThingsOn a Wall To See What Sticks: Hypertext Plans

In devloping my hypertext assignment, I have decided to focus on the topic of text messaging, specifically the reasons and societal effects of doing so. My idea isn't yet concrete, and is more a lump of coal than it is a diamond. The questions floating through my head that I intend to hopefully consolidate into a defined topic are:

Why do people text more than talk?

Are there societal reasons for this?

Is this generational? Are older people using this form of communication heavily as well?

How are the communication skills of texters? Are they social when the phone is removed from their hands?

Why is there a certain lingo?

What are the possible long term consequences of reliance on text messaging?

Some sub points that I wanted to focus on are the generational differences in text messaging usage. Younger people tend to text more so than older people, and I would like to explore the reasons behind this. I'd also like to focus on the possible societal effects of text messaging, in particular whether or not texting limits or amplifies people's other communicative/social skills.