I definitely prefer talking to text messaging unless I’m in a setting where its impossible to have a phone conversation.
While text messages are great, they go only so far. They can’t tell me if I’ve made the person I’m communicating with upset, uncomfortable, insulted or angry.
When we speak face to face, we pick up visual cues and listen for audible cues to assess how the conversation is going. Text messaging removes those cues and places the burden on abbreviated words to convey a range of emotions and intentions.
Unless my message is obviously funny, is a smiley face or LOL telling the recipient to laugh or that I’m laughing. (Although every time I see LMAO, I can’t help laughing out loud at the image it conjures up.)
And those abbreviations don’t work on my non-English speaking friends.
Sometimes, like today, after looking at the 20-odd messages that passed between a friend and I, I wondered, wouldn’t it have been better to just pick up the phone and talk?
That’s the other thing text messaging eliminates – the sound of peoples’ voices.
Frankly, all this technology keeps us separated in our own little worlds. I wouldn’t mind a little more face time with my friends.
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Very lovely, Polly. Very beautiful.
It might be a function of age. I’ve seen my niece carry on long conversations via text messaging. It would drive me crazy.
Hi Marcia
I’ve been wondering the exact same thing recently.
I finally got a good result over a course I want to do but the coordinator was uncertain whether I was eligible. Three weeks, and some 30 emails later, I do wonder if a ten minute phone conversation would have done the trick.
I agree with you with this, I like face to face, or on the phone.
The photo was taken off the island of Grenada
It probably would have, Narelle. I understand wanting to have records, especially in business situations, but I think we can get much done with a phone call. Wonder if the world would get any quieter if we only communicated by email and text messaging?
Something else that just occurred to me: our emails and text messages are stored by the phone companies – someplace. It becomes their property, I believe. I don’t think the same is true (I could be wrong) of phone conversations. Email can be scanned, data collected and sold to companies that turn around and market to us. I notice now that when I go to my gmail account, there are ads on the side based on the information in whatever email I’m reading. It’s too scary to contemplate. Big Brother is watching.