Once again I must aire my oddball opinion and say I do NOT get the allure of texting. Isn't texting just an updated version of the telegraph? Didn't Alexander Graham Bell make the telegraph obsolete a century ago? Why are we moving backwards?
If you disagree, tell me: Can you text as fast as you can talk? If you can you have freak thumbs! Are we as a society so....so intimidated by the human voice that we'll go out of our way and take 3 times as long to convey a thought via texting vs. the telephone?
Yesterday I asked my brother if he had heard back from ______? We needed an answer pronto.
He said, "If I don't hear from him soon I'll text him."
Oh bull crap! I made one phone call, asked one question, got one answer, in one minute. Sheesh! It ain't rocket surgery, people!
If we don't use our muscles they'll atrophy. If we don't use our voices will our species soon be able to do nothing more than grunt and squeal?
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My daughter Andrea had a beautiful baby girl a couple of weeks ago. She sends out a daily photo text to all her friends and family showing us Reese's progress. Cool. Except about 10 seconds after she sends it my phone starts going ding...ding...ding...ding... Everyone she sent the photo to starts replying, "Oh, she's so cute" and "She's getting SO big", etc.
Now I'm paying for 20 incoming texts, and I don't even know most of these people. (And don't even think it....the last thing I want is 'unlimited' texting.) I finally asked her to send me my daily photo privately. There may be a setting where I can opt out of seeing all the replies, but I'll be damned if I can find it.
Hey, there's a thought....I wonder if I can opt out of text messages altogether? Then, if someone wants to talk to me, they'll have to TALK to me. That will save us both time.
S
Texting can be faster if you're used to it and you have a phone that's got a keyboard. I have an old cell phone so texting isn't usually worth it. Unless it's a short answer then it's only 20 cents to send a text versus $1 to talk--unless I've already got a call that day in which case it's probably cheaper to talk.
ReplyDeleteIf used properly texting is a great alternative to talking (I hate the small talk you get in calls) quick question, quick answer...texting is great. Most people over use it though.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, pal. And yes, most cell phone plans allow you to opt out of texting.
ReplyDeleteI do use it, though, in situations where I think I might be disturbing someone who is in a meeting, or when an actual record of the answer I'm seeking is helpful. Asking somebody for a telephone number or address for example, it can be helpful to have the text message documentation.
It costs me a quarter per text & I would totally opt out (you can on my phone), but it's the only way I communicate with my brother in NC. He works odd hours (pharmacist), so calling isn't good & he NEVER checks his email. So I send him a what's up text each week. But it takes me FOREVER to key in a text on my little dumb phone. Just try typing the word "feed" on there - 3, 3, 3, pause pause, 3, 3, pause pause, 3, 3, pause pause, 3. Ugh!
ReplyDeleteI like texting, thankyouverymuch. When my oldest son was a teenager, he used to tie up the phone for hours. My youngest son says, "Phone? Who talks on the phone any more?"
ReplyDeleteWe have a $25/month plan for 300 phone minutes and unlimited texting and data. We NEVER use the 300 minutes, but we sure are glad we have the unlimited text and data.
But even I freaked out when I went to the roadside fruit and vegetable stand last weekend and the customer in front of me paid by sliding his credit card on the seller's iPhone and then scribbled his signature with his fingers on the screen of the iPhone. ...I paid in cash!
I like it best for meeting up with people. They can't always take a call but you can leave a few words of text easier than an email. Quick, short, sweet. Anything longer than a few words I'd rather email.
ReplyDeleteI think texting is the form of communication you choose when you don't want to commit to having an actual communication. It says "I have something I want to discuss with you, but I don't want the pressure of having to have a conversation".
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