Joseph – There are many, many rabbonim who would argue on this.
feivel – Good point, but that doesn’t take away from the actual issue.
bein_hasdorim & havesomeseichel – Couldn’t agree more. Texting in a Bais Medrash is an incredible lack of kavod Bais Medrash and should be banned. However, banning texting altogether is a) not necessary (texting is not inherently any more evil then voice-only) and b) impossible. If a teenager wants to be able to text, they can buy their own phone any day. Better to allow moderate, monitored texting.
Jothar – This isn’t Israel, and what works in Israel will not necessarily work here. Sheltering is the accepted method of chinuch in Israel, but in America thats just not possible.