Thanks, I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve not mastered any modicum of texting technology. It’s just really embarrassing to not be able to figure out how to send a grammatically coherent message. I figure a real keyboard will allow me to communicate successfully.
As much as I hate to admit it, I gave up on grammar in texts after about a month. However, I absolutely will not use numbers as letters, or single letters for words (as in "are u going 2 the store b4 u come home).
I like texting. I have a small group of friends, but we’re pretty well joined at the hip, and we text back and forth quite a bit to arrange this or that, or share something silly. None of us is partial to text speak; apparently we’re all adept enough with the tiny keypads to use full sentences.
Like anything else, the medium is what you make of it.
This. I actually did send one once. My daughter was trying to convince me that texting was indeed a cool and sensible way to communicate, so she sent me a text (along the lines of “hi mom how r u”) and I slowly and laboriously sent back:
“f u”
She liked it. 
Remember that horrendous train crash out in California? The engineer driving the train that caused the accident was texting. So was the other engineer, IIRC.
'nough said.
About half this thread is people saying “texting is good for when you don’t want to disturb someone and a response isn’t needed.”
My example was I know my husband is on the way to the grocery store, and I know we’re out of milk and we forgot to put it on the list and I know he’ll be bummed when he finds out 4 hours later that even though he went to the grocery store, we have no milk.
I know he has his cell phone with him. However, I don’t know if he’s still in the car (neither of us like to talk on the phone while driving), standing at the checkout (neither of us are the types who will pick up the cell phone while we’re engaged with another person), or heading back to the cart with his hands full.
I don’t need an instant response. Indeed, I don’t need any response.
I quickly text him “Hey, we’re out of milk.”
Voila. Communication done, with a minimum of hassle on all our parts.
Yes, I could just call, and if he’s not able to answer, he could get the voice mail. But the text message just pops up onto the screen instantly. Calling voice mail involves several steps, and takes at least a few minutes.
Are you really going to maintain that texting is not the simplest, least-hassle form of communication in this situation?
I don’t really like texting. I mean. . .I’ll send maybe five a month, if that. It’s great for when you want to communicate something, but you don’t really want to chit-chat. For instance. . .the other night, I was really upset about something. I called a friend. He and I talked for abour an hour. The conversation ended.
The next morning, I texted him with, “Thank you for the conversation last night. It kept me sane, and I really appreciate it.” (Yes. I text in whole sentences.).
The difference between those two exchanges? With the first, I needed to talk; I needed a response, a connection to the other person. Something Big was going on. With the second. . .I wanted to convey appreciation in a way that didn’t demand attention. He can read it, he can see it, and it doesn’t take him the time it would to check his voicemail. It doesn’t wake him up or demand an immediate response.
Incidentally, he almost never answers the phone (by his own admission). But he answered it this time because, if I’m calling, “it must be important.”
And that’s kind of how I view texting. It’s a way to communicate non-critical data that’s unobtrusvie.
That being said. . .I also have Google Talk on my phone. Ah, Google Talk. Waster of my hours, application of fuckery. I have it on my phone. One of my friends has it on his phone. Several of my friends have it on their computer. It’s great to be able to have a conversation whenever. But, then, I’m an often-bored person, so that’s probably a part of it. And so, if you see me tapping on my phone. . .it’s probably on Google Talk, and I’m probably having a real-time conversation. You can see that the other person’s typing; it’s no different, really, from being on AIM or Yahoo!.
That being said. . .I don’t get Twitter. I mean, for celebrities. . .sure, I kind of get it. I mean, people want news, they provide it, they control the flow of information. Same with career networking; I don’t really understand how it would work there, but I accept that it does. But in general. . .it’s like. . .who cares? Really? I mean, I can’t think of anything I can do while away from a computer that’s going to be affect 50 of my closest friends without actually being important enough to call them about or tell them personally. It’s self-important masturbation.
And I’m old. Apparently. Get off my lawn.
I think the “problem” alot of us have is that much texting is not being used for the “get milk messages”.
Its often IMO being used for instant or near instant communication and often at a conversational level of the “whazzzz uppppp?!” variety. Which is fine if thats what you wanna do.
Many of us have little or no interest in that kind of stuff.
The contents of the last few texts I sent:
Asking about the status of a computer repair, to someone who can’t answer the phone at work, who I also don’t happen to like talking to.
Giving directions - they can’t be misheard in a text, and he would have been on the tube underground for part of the journey, but would receive the text when he surfaced.
Letting someone know what time a band would be on.
Letting someone know that my train was late (and they couldn’t answer the phone because they were soundchecking).
Passing on information to my partner, who can’t take personal calls at work.
Asking her to pick up some milk.
A chatty message to her because we like to have some contact during the day, but can’t phone.
Commenting on a message she’d sent me about an unexpected celebrity she’d seen at the pub - she wouldn’t have been able to answer the phone then either.
Letting someone know I was sick and wouldn’t be able to go to dance class.
Asking a question of someone who keeps very irregular hours, so that they can reply at their leisure.
The phone wouldn’t have been better on any of those occasions.
Yes, we managed without texting for hundreds of years, but we also managed without computers, and I don’t see anyone here saying they’re unnecessary. 
Me neither. I’ve never even set up my voicemail on my cell phone, nor checked it. I use it like a portable public pay phone. Its usually off to boot. I get extra happy when I go off in the woods to recreate in an area with no cell phone coverage.
When I was looking for a cell phone, I asked for the biggest, clunkiest one they had. Those jitterbug phones are looking sweet these days.
I guess when I am hiding under bed while terrorists search the house, I am gonna be SOL because I can’t text that Burn Notice guy.
I’ve never sent a text message and never will. It took decades to get from telegraphy to telephony, and I’m not going back.
This is the only thing I text.
can you talk? can i call you?
That way I know I’m not interrupting and can call them.
Ta-da! Perfect use.
[quote=“Diogenes_the_Cynic, post:30, topic:488463”]
Who gives a shit? People got along fine for thousands of years without having to know where all their buddies were all the time. If I need to ask somebody a question (which I rarely do), I’ll call them. Otherwise, I could give a fuck less. I don’t need to be updated on what they’re getting on their sandwich at subway.
[QUOTE]
People got along fine for those thousands of years without the internet as well.
Just because you don’t use it 14.98 times per day, texting is not less viable.
The fascinating thing about the texting phenomenon is that it was popularized, at least in the USA, entirely as a way for school kids to clandestinely socialize instead of paying attention in class. And for that it far beats the traditional alternatives of note-passing or stage-whispering.
So now we’ve grown a generation who didn’t really, like, you know, actually, like pay any attention to school or learning, but boy are they whizzes at grazing on continuous trivial social contact with their peers.
I can’t stand it. I tried it a couple times to communicate with my niece and it’s too time-consuming and clumsy for me to use as a regular form of communication.
Count me in as one of the “it has a time and place” folks as far as text messages go. What really bugs me, though, is the shorthand that goes along with it. “U” instead of “you” is the worst - what, you’re too busy to type in the other two letters?
(I hate that in email communication too…)
If you really need to leave a message about getting milk, that’s what voice mail is for. Voice mail takes like zero steps and zero effort. Texting takes a million steps and is way too much work for me with my arthritic fingers trying to figure out where the letters are.
Dudes now text each other in the middle of the night to ask each other what they’re doing tomorrow? Man, times have changed. In my day that would have meant you were both gay. Do you also ask each other what you’re going to wear?
I’m completely with you on that. I have no interest in ongoing conversations via texting either.
Maybe it depends on the phone. On our phones (iPhones), getting a text has zero steps. Literally. You hear the beep, you look at the phone, the text is displayed. You don’t have to press any button at all.
Receiving a voice mail, on the other hand, takes several steps and much more effort. Plus if you’re in a noisy area, it’s hard to hear.
Who cares how many steps it takes for the other person? All I care about is how many steps it takes for me, the sender. Sending a voice mail requires two buttons, the button to call, and the button to hang up. Sending a text message – actually I don’t even know how many steps it takes because I’ve never done it, but I know it’s more than two because every letter of the message itself requires 1-3 buttons.
Having said that, I don’t think there’s any difference in thenumber of steps on our phones to get voice mail or read a text. Actually, I know that listening to voicemail only takes one step, pushing the voice mail button.
Ahhh, this fucking texting bullshit drives me crazy.
I refuse to take part in it. Anytime somebody texts me and wants a response I immediately just call them back. And now it’s gotten to the point where they act suprised or I somehow invaded their space for having the nerve to (gasp!) call them.
And my wife and her female co-workers are the worst. Non-stop.
Me: What are you still texting about 7:30 at night?
Her: Important stuff from work.
Me: Why don’t you just call her?
Her: Why don’t you just mind your own business.
Me: :rolleyes:
One of her newer co-workers actually (gasp!) called her last night. They talked for about 12 minutes and were done.
Me: Aren’t you glad she called you instead of texting?
Her: Why?
Me: Cause that 12 minute conversation would have taken you over 4 hours of texting back and forth!
Her: Mind your own business.
Me: :rolleyes: