In my entire life I’ve texted one word one time, and even that I shortened to its briefest form…“ok”.
Texting holds no appeal to me whatsoever.
Texting is useful only in situations where you wouldn’t plan to have an actual conversation. I only exchange text for very brief conversations…
But it really depends here. My phone is a T9, a non-keyboard phone so that’s why I take that approach. Even though I’m quick and have each letter memorized I still don’t want to chat much like that.
If I had a keyboard phone, like my old iPhone or a G-Phone, I’m more apt to have full conversations.
I notice communication is usually a bit better and more open when done in a digitized manner.
You get to be faster at texting (using the old school method) the more you do it. I was very slow when I first started but now I’m a whiz.
Also, it’s pretty lame to bitch about the amount of time it takes to type stuff while bitching about using shorthand at the same time. If you tried some smart shorthand it wouldn’t take so long!
Just for that whole voicemail thing…I don’t have voicemail on my cell and won’t set it up. I already have to listen to the company voicemail at work, my personal VM at work, and my home VM. No more! I don’t like it.
But I am another whose cell phone is for ME. I don’t even have it on. I go scolded for this the other day. Um, I can leave it off all the time if I want!
I don’t hate the thought, I’m just mystified at what purpose it could possibly serve in my life that isn’t already amply served by e-mail, the phone, and voicemail. If you need to let me know something immediately, I usually have my phone on. If I’m too busy or not allowed to answer the phone, I’m too busy or not allowed to read the damn message, so leave me a voice mail. If you just want time-delayed chit chat when it’s convenient for me, that’s what e-mail is for. If I’m someplace it’s too loud to hear the phone, well, I’d really prefer someone just bludgeoned me to death.
I don’t like texting at all, but I e-mail the cell phones of friends and they text me back. If I was going to send text messages myself I’d get something like an LG Scoop that has a little horizontal slide-out keyboard.
Every step in communication technology seems to get more impersonal. Texting shorthand completes the trip to sending a message with as little personality as possible.
I lv u Just gets you all warm and fuzzy doesn’t it.
I’ve got damaged hearing. I’m okay face to face, but on the phone it’s a constant stream of “WHAT?” and “BEG PARDON?” and “I have no idea what the hell you just said.” Honestly, when I first got a cell phone (about a year and a half ago - bit of a late starter), I thought I’d hate texting. It just looks foolish. But it turns out that sending a text message means I know my info will get to that person and - here’s the important bit - I will understand their response without a problem. I wouldn’t call it a godsend, but it is mighty handy.
Also, my social life is mostly of the “let’s all get together in one place and drink” variety. It’s much easier to text a friend “where are we tonight?” and get a one or two word answer back than it is to try and call, leave a message when the music there is too loud for the phone to be heard, and wait around until they notice my voice mail, duck into a quiet area, check the voice mail, call me back, and then relay the info in a clear enough voice that I will be able to hear it.
I will say, however, they I do not use B4 or 2day or any other mess like that. It just feels wrong.
I love me some texting. When a friends band is playing, I can send one text to twenty people in two seconds with address, cover cost, time, everything, they have it right there. Also, like others said, it takes me a few seconds to read a text or send one, whereas to check my voicemail I have to wait for the lady to let me put in my code, wait and press pound a few times, just to get a message that says “Hey, call me”. Most of my texts are saying where to meet up anyway, so we can have a face to face conversation. I use about 1500 texts a month, and maybe 20 minutes of phone time tops. The Blackberry makes it much easier as well, and I speak in complete sentences. It’s also good for looking preoccupied when you are walking past all the bums downtown.
I have never sent a text. I just don’t see the point, for me. But then again, I really don’t even have a cell phone. We do keep a prepaid phone in our car for emergencies, but have only done that since we became parents.
I have never been much of a phone person. I NEVER even used the phone while I was babysitting, as a teenager.
I do think there can be good reasons to use texting, but so far I haven’t met anyone that does it for anything other than chit chat, and sending jokes and lame stuff.
I am an infrequent texter, but love it in the appropriate situation, many of which are enumerated upthread.
Another asset to texting as opposed to phone conversation, is that it is private. Who here has not been pissed being forced to listen to one side of an intimate conversation in the grocery store or on the train? Texting doesn’t disturb the people around you to the degree that talking does.
One rainy night, we had just dropped my daughter at her place and were headed back up the highway on our way home. My husband was driving and he is not a great driver. (I am, and I usually drive, but can’t see for shit at night in the rain.) To ease my anxiety, I texted my daughter, “oh my god, your father is the worst driver ever.” He asked what I was texting and I told him I was just thanking her for a nice evening. See? Nice and private. I needed to say something to someone and I absolutely did NOT need him to know what I was saying.
There are only 2 people that text me. One is the guy working on my car, since he’s not allowed to use his phone at work. The other is my sister, who routinely carries on novel-length conversations with all her friends through texting.
I will occasionally reply to a text with a brief message (“yes/no”, etc), but I do not initiate texts. My cellphone makes as much noise when I get a text as it does when I get a call, so it’s not any more or less disruptive. It’s much faster and easier for me to call someone than it is to text them. If they’re in the middle of something, they can let their voicemail get it.
Some people have picked up on it and it takes them much less effort than it takes you, obviously. It’s just as easy (and requires the same number of steps) for me to text a message like that as it is to call, with the added bonus of not waiting for the other person to answer. As an extra special bonus, they don’t have to stop what they’re doing to answer my call.
I am gay, but that has nothing to do with it. Clearly you’re not a part of Generation Text, and that’s fine. But I don’t get your seething animosity for it. It’s not for you, cool. But to act like you’re somehow better than those who find it useful is just the height of :rolleyes:
When I first got a cell, I thought I’d never use the text feature. Now I use it all the time. It’s really not that hard, even on my very cheap phone. Don’t most phones come with predictive text now?
I like it because it forces you to be concise. One thing I do hate are long rambling messages where people feel compelled to tell you their entire family history from the time great^9 grandfather Silas first laid eyes on New Amsterdam just to let you know they’re running five minutes late. You can’t do that on a text.
Also it’s unobtrusive. It’s a good way of contacting people when you’re not sure they want to be contacted. If fact, my boss has requested that we only use texts to contact him, and he uses them to contact us. Whatever he is, I’m pretty sure he’s not a teenage girl.
Some people find them cheaper, but on my plan I’ve got enough minutes to negotiate mid-east peace, so that’s not an issue for me.
Also, you can text a lot of people at once, though I’ve never been compelled to do that.
I do have one friend who never uses anything but text, which is annoying. I keep telling her that the newer cell phones have an attachment which functions like a mkie and an earpiece, allowing you to speak to someone as if they were right there. But I think for her it is a question of economics.
I don’t care what other people do but I don’t even have a cellphone. I’d rather get an email or land line message that I’ll return when I have time or are in the mood to talk. If I’m out and around doing things I don’t want to be pestered with unimportant chitchat. Since we don’t have kids, being reached in an emergency isn’t a pressing need. I couldn’t type on one of those tiny keyboards if I tried, at least not without a lot major irritation and bitching and moaning. If people sent me misspelled cryptic little messages all day I would change my number so as to avoid it. There is nothing in my life that is so important that I can’t take the time to type in full sentences.
For a brief time I had a cell phone, but since it was used for nothing more than a portable Tetris device, I got rid of it. I rarely if ever used the texting feature, because the people I knew with cell phones never got my messages (some problem with different carriers, or some such).
I can see how texting might be used as an efficient form of communication. However, in practice I can see that it often isn’t efficient at all. My roommate texts constantly with his girlfriend, which means every 30 seconds out of 90 seconds he’s not paying attention to what he’s doing. Everything he’s doing comes to a complete halt while he stabs buttons. We talk for 60 seconds. Then bleedle-eedle-eedle, another text from his girlfriend. He ignores me again (stops making dinner, whatever) so he can text.
Pick up the damned phone and call her. You can say all you’re going to say, about 50 times faster, if you just CALL HER.
From my observation, texting is simply a way to communicate badly while you’re doing something else badly at the same time.
I had no idea texting bothered so many people! Let me say this on behalf of all texters: Suck it up, pansies.
Hate text to the point of disabling it entirely once the spam texts started coming in. 90% of my cell phone use is for emergencies and the other 10% for talking to my husband. I don’t even want a camera on my phone.
Chowder, your cat’s walking on your keyboard again…
If you just do it till you need glasses, its all good.