Texting

[Loves Vintage]

I hate it. I don't text. I don't want to text. I don't want people to text me.

I see kids walking around outside like zombies, looking down at their phones. Trees, flowers, the stream under the bridge, passers-by, NOPE, gotta look at the phone!!!

I see the kids who work at the grocery store looking at their phones. They position them low so their managers can't see them. I giggle inside each time.

I see teens and adults texting at the top of their steering wheel while driving, and it makes me worry about increased traffic accidents. Didn't Oprah have some message about this a while back? Doesn't anyone listen to Oprah any longer? {sarcasm}

Is it just me? Am I getting old? What are these kids talking about????

 

[soocool]

DD and DH have text messaging on their phones, I do not. If I need to send either a text I can do it for free online via Verizon website.

I even hate talking on my cell. When I am in the car or in a store shopping or away from home in general I do not want to talk on the phone.

I can somewhat understand texting because it is something that a kid can do without the parent listening in on the conversation. You can communicate with multiple people at one time. DD prefers texting to someone constantly calling her on the phone disturbing her. She can look at her messages at her convenience and not disturb anyone. That said, she is forbidden to text or even talk on the phone while she is driving or in school, or at the kitchen table during meals, or in church - yes people are texting in church.

I remember my mom hated when tv sets became (1970s) smaller and more affordable and we had more than one. She said it interfered with our schoolwork! lol Now we have video games, cell phones, etc.

 

[Steel]

I knO wot U mean, I hav n issU w txtN per se, jst concrnz dat youngsters wiL not mstr d eng lngwij f dey R UzN an alternative n thR daily cmUnik8shnz.

Or,

I know what you mean, I have no issue with texting per se, just concerns that youngsters will not master the english language if they are using an alternative in their daily communications.

I used : www.transl8it.com

 

[Dancing Fire]

i don't know how to text...

 

[princesss]

I love texting. It makes it a lot easier for me to make plans with people, because we can do it at our convenience - I can send a text at 10 and if my friend is busy until 4, she can get back to me without having to answer the phone/figure out when to call back. Plus there's a written record of our plans, which is good because I'm notoriously bad at remembering what time I said I'd be somewhere, so I can check as many times as I need to without bugging my friends or having to hunt down my calendar.

It's also a great screening tool when I give my number to a guy - if he texts me and it's full of text speak, I know I'm never going to see him again. But if it's properly punctuated and capitalized, and he uses proper grammar, I know that he's worth a date (though he needs to actually call for that).

 

[Jennifer W]

I live by text. I'm really a teenager waster, trapped in a 35 year old customer service associate's body.

I often text DH from one end of the house to the other to have him bring me coffee. He regrets showing me how to text, I suspect.

 

[davi_el_mejor]

I hate talking on a phone, If I could correspond with everyone (my supervisor, my doctor, my family) through text, email or IM I totally would. We have officer communicator at work and I will send updates and information through that rather than turn around and tell the other people.

There's no awkward silence in texting, just the wait for a reply. Texting is definitely my preferred method of communication.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Until the beginning of summer, I never texted. When my DH left for the summer, we got new phones and a new provider and began texting each other. Due to my living situation, I was ALWAYS with my kids and the best way DH and I could communicate with each other about private matters was by texting.

Now, it's become habit I guess. We text all the time.

The only other person I text with is my best friend. She's sick and needs a caregiver around her 24/7 and b/c of that, like my DH, we often cannot communicate about private matters so she'll text me instead.

Everyone else, I talk to in person or by email.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Jennifer W - That's really cute! I applaud texting for purposes of getting DHs to deliver coffee!!

I'm all for e-mail communication over phone calls for purposes of efficiency too.

I just feel badly for those kids, when I see them walking around, heads down. I don't want my daughter to look like that!! I want her to hold her head high, see where she's going, smile and acknowledge passers-by. (You can tell I'm a worrier because I worry about this quite a few years in advance. I'm only 26 weeks preggo now. ) These kids just seem so out-of-tune with what is going on around them. I guess I am going through a little of what soocool's mom went through with the tvs . . .

 

[packrat]

I don't know how to text. For some stuff, I can see it being beneficial-like needing to say something quick and not wanting to get into a whole phone conversation about it, and needing a faster answer than waiting for someone to check email. I will say tho, it's hard to have a face to face with someone when they check their phone over and over, and then "oh just a sec I gotta reply to this" and then the conversation is interrupted. Sometimes I just like quiet and to be unhooked from things. If I'm outside I want to hear the wind in the trees and listen to the birds and normal outside noises that I find so calming rather than being ready to spring into action if my phone buzzes or vibrates or makes a noise.

 

[oranges]

I text a lot... I find it really convenient just so say something quick.. i don't like to have texting conversations though. a few years ago a girl was texting + driving and ended up hitting a tree on my boyfriend's front lawn-- texting and driving is so dangerous and i see it all of the time

 

[Bunny007]

I text a fair amount. It's great, like someone already said, for making plans. Not every little issue or observation requires a phone call and all the small talk that requires. Of course, I'm not one for talking on the phone much anyway.

That being said, there are plenty of "conversations" that should not take place via text and by that, I mean anything even remotely important or complex. Way too much room for misunderstanding and opportunity for passive agressiveness.

I also loathe text speak.

 

[tyty333]

I'm not a texter either...occasionally I will respond to my son when he text me though. I hate having a conversation with
someone who gets a text and feels the need to respond while we're talking. Just seems kind of rude to me.

 

[Haven]

The only people I ever text with are my husband, my mom, and one good friend who texts a lot. I don't love it, but it's a nice way to communicate very quickly with DH while he's between clients. My mom is just a texter, as is my friend, so I know that texting is sometimes the only way to get ahold of them.

I never use my phone while driving, and I very much want to make a bumper sticker that says "Put the phone away--if you were that important, you'd have a driver." People who text or talk on the phone while driving are reckless.

 

[Tuckins1]

I'm a serial texter. I hate talking on the phone when all I need is a quick something or other... That being said- I do not use "text language". I spell words properly and use proper grammar. All that nonsense spelling and horrible syntax- makes me CRAZY

 

[MonkeyPie]

I love texting. It makes it a lot easier for me to make plans with people, because we can do it at our convenience - I can send a text at 10 and if my friend is busy until 4, she can get back to me without having to answer the phone/figure out when to call back. Plus there's a written record of our plans, which is good because I'm notoriously bad at remembering what time I said I'd be somewhere, so I can check as many times as I need to without bugging my friends or having to hunt down my calendar.

Agreed! I love being able to go back and check - my handwriting is atrocious, so trying to decipher my own scribbles usually fails.

I have a Droid, and I use it for every reason it is intended. DH has a Blackberry, and pretty much doesn't even use the thing. Grrr.

 

[FuturePsyD]

I am 30 years old and I LOVE texting. I text pretty much anyone I can get away with texting!! Friends, family members, co-workers... For me it is a matter of convenience. It makes my life easier. I LOATHE talking on the phone and I find that once certain people get you on the phone, you can get trapped. However, with texting, there is no danger of getting stuck talking to a "chatty kathy" or any awkward silences with others, etc. With texting, you get to the point.

Also, when people are looking down at their phones, its not always just texting. With these smart phones, there is so much more to do then to text, such as getting on facebook, myspace, twitter, checking/writing emails, browsing the internet, looking at pictures you've taken with your phone, playing games, etc....

I agree that there is a time and place for texting/getting on your phone. I have friends in their 30's who act like rude zombies and are habitually looking down at their phones no matter the time and place. In the middle of a face to face conversation, they will interrupt or ignore you and tap away at their phone. It's classless, so I don't find texting to be the issue, its the misuse of it that causes problems!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I am 30 years old and I LOVE texting. I text pretty much anyone I can get away with texting!! Friends, family members, co-workers... For me it is a matter of convenience. It makes my life easier. I LOATHE talking on the phone and I find that once certain people get you on the phone, you can get trapped. However, with texting, there is no danger of getting stuck talking to a "chatty kathy" or any awkward silences with others, etc. With texting, you get to the point.

Yep the trapping drives me nuts. Just want to call and say, "hey can we plan X event," but for some reason it's social etiquette that a full conversation must follow to avoid any sort of rudeness. Being stuck on the phone for 1 hr!

Texting is also great for when DH or I are at the store, and the other can text and say grab some milk or whatever.

 

[zoebartlett]

My husband and I text each other, and a few friends and I occasionally text, but I don't get why it's SO popular. I hate seeing kids constantly texting each other. It drives me crazy.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I adore texting. Makes my life a lot easier!

 

[yssie]

I hate doing it, I hate watching other people who've fallen under its enchantment walk around entranced.

That said, like most things, in the right time and place it has its uses - a quick "I'm on my way" is always appreciated, for example..

 

[Ninna]

I text very little......
Is rather sad to see kids walking while texting, totally unaware of their surroundings. Watching parents being ignored at the table is the worst one when we go out for dinner.

 

[Kaleigh]

I hate doing it, I hate watching other people who've fallen under its enchantment walk around entranced.

That said, like most things, in the right time and place it has its uses - a quick "I'm on my way" is always appreciated, for example..

It has it's place as Yssie said....

I am TEXT free... I don't like it, don't know how to do it, and am happy this way....

My kids, 22 and 20 are zombies with this texting stuff.. I have a no texting rule when they are with me...

I want their eyes on me, and the conversation, not on a crackberry... Gahhh!!!!

 

[Laila619]

I adore texting. Makes my life a lot easier!

Yep!

My hub and I text all the time. He sends me the sweetest texts every morning. Also I text my mom. I dislike chatting on the phone, and much prefer text or e-mail.

 

[katamari]

Am I the only hater here? How do those of you who don't text talk smack about people/situations in public? Texting is great for that reason, if no others.

I am much more of an e-mailer than a texter, but I am certainly addicted to technology and have been known to walk into something now and again because I was reading/responding to e-mail.

 

[Imdanny]

I like it because it's instant and it doesn't require the other person to pick of the phone. It's get around the whole "is this a good time to call you/ for you to call me thing" and then you or the other person can call at an appointed time (or not if it's not necessary).

The person you're texting doesn't have to answer the phone or check email, so you can communicate a lot faster with a lot less trouble.

I'm not "glued" to it. I only use it with three people, but I think it's great. JMO.

 

[zoebartlett]

I've already posted that I do text, but I forgot to mention that I HATE text speak. I spell words out (and I've only written "lol" out ONCE, and it was here, actually, not in a text). One of my friends who texts all the time laughs at the formality of my messages, but I can't help it.

 

[Arcadian]

I barely text at all. I use it for short stuff.

-A

 

[kama_s]

I text a fair amount as well. They usually are quick, to the point messages and the receiver can respond back whenever it is convenient for him/her. I hate using the phone and I don't have time for 10 min small talk conversations, so a text works perfectly.

Ofcourse, it aggravates me when people stare into their phones as they're walking/shopping/buying coffee etc. And chat speak makes my blood boil. So, in short, it IS possible to text and not have addiction/grammar issues!

 

[geckodani]

I'm a serial texter. I hate talking on the phone when all I need is a quick something or other... That being said- I do not use "text language". I spell words properly and use proper grammar. All that nonsense spelling and horrible syntax- makes me CRAZY

THIS! Precisely! My mother texted me something that involved "R U" and I almost cried. The woman is a teacher for crying out loud!!!

I do text, especially when making plans. It's easier. That said, if it requires more than 3 texts to complete, just call already.