Texting is the newest and quickest way to communicate with
someone. Well this may not always be the
case but for most of us it is. Anyone
who has a cell phone can easily send a short message to anyone else with a cell
phone. I guess it is convenient to
convey short messages like "please pick up bread on your way home" or
" meet me at 9:30 instead of 9:00."
I can totally see how this is helpful.
However I do believe that it may be getting out of control, so to speak.
I know people who have whole conversations in this
manner. I admit I am one of them. My choice would be to actually talk to one
another but there are some people, friends of mine included, who prefer to text. I can only guess as to why this trend is becoming
more prevalent.
It is becoming more and more acceptable to take less
responsibility for how our actions and words affect others. Texting allows us to take this to a whole new
level. We can say things to each other
without seeing the look in someone's eyes or hearing their tone in their
response. The beauty is they can't see
our eyes or hear our tone either.
We can tell someone how annoying they are or how their jokes
are not funny without seeing the hurt or disappointment in their facial
expressions. You can break up with your
lover without seeing the tears form in their eyes or slide down their
cheek. There is the added bonus that you
can tell someone that you sent a text you would not be able to meet, when
really you forgot to, and they just did not get the message. Some people may do this these things just to
be mean but I think most who use this method are avoiding conflict which they
are terribly afraid of. It allows them
to speak freely about things, feelings and thoughts that they think they are
not allowed to share.
We may in fact be doing future generations a
disservice. The younger we start our children in using this method to
communicate the less proper social and communication skills they learn. I believe they will have difficulty holding
an appropriate conversation for education and work. Without learning how to talk or express their
feelings and thoughts in person when it comes time to do so they will have
increased anxiety and feelings of panic.
I know some who communicate with their employees this
way. It appears to be the direction the
communication in the work place is going.
It's a shame really. The lack of
contact we have with other people is enabling us to see each other as just a
number or message on our phone. It makes
it less human and easier to ignore what a person needs as a thinking,
feeling creature. Misunderstandings are frequent as expression
and intonation are missed. They are
attempted to be replaced by the cute little smiley faces but it really does lack
a personal contact.
Will I keep texting?
Yes. Like I said some of my
friends do mostly that. I think I will
make a point to do less though.
