To Text Or Not To Text?
Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English - A text message: any short electronically transmitted written message, esp. those sent to a handheld device such as a pager, PDA, cell phone.
Did you know that an average of 126 million texts is sent every day in the UK? And that’s just my family and friends!!
Where ever you are these days, there seems to be someone who looks as if they need to have their phone surgically removed from their hand for their own safety. It seems we have completely lost the art of communication, there is obviously no tone in a text, and even a simple phrase like “yeah right” can be totally misconstrued – I’m sure we have all been there. Another classic of course, is if you accidentally send a text message to your mum, that was in fact meant for you mate, detailing exactly what you got up to with your hot date. Not something you want her to bring up over the Sunday roast with the family again.
Do we hide behind the safety of texting? As we can’t be seen or heard, texting seems to encourage us to say things or get into situations that would certainly not happen face to face with a person. Everyday people around the world are getting dates, being dumped, arguing, starting affairs, even getting the sack by a piece of technology. Even the celebs are at it, recently Kevin Federline found out by text that Britney was divorcing him, so if its good enough for them, its good enough for us!
Let’s face it though, there is nothing worse than going out for a night on the town with your mate and their mobile. At least the mobiles favourite tipple is not a double vodka and coke! You sit there desperately trying to hold a conversation; their thumbs are on overdrive, whilst still managing to keep eye contact with you and remind you it’s your round. A complete genius or should you be driving them to the next text addicts anonymous meeting?.
Where’s the romance in texting? Myself, I like to remember the good old days, when you would spend hours on the phone chatting away to your latest crush, talking about anything from biology homework, to what happened in the latest grange hill. All very exciting and romantic of course, until your mum threatened to use your family allowance to pay the phone bill, but still, probably cheaper than a text sent at “standard” rate. However, as pointless as the conversations were, we were all learning to communicate - a valued skill for life. The only thing teenagers will gain in life these days, is repetitive strain injury.
So, to text or not to text? I think it's more meaningful and sincere to have someone actually make the effort to call you to ask you out on a first date, it's got to be a better start to a possible relationship, than two people using an “electronically transmitted written message”. Don’t get me wrong, i'm all for texting if used in moderation. However I’m sure Blondie’s 1980’s hit “Call Me” would not have stayed at no.1 for 6 weeks had it been called “Text Me” !
