# Help an Old Fart Understand Texting
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [January 23, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358 "2012-01-23T02:12:56Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@brocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brocks)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/1 "2012-01-23T02:12:56Z")
OK, I admit I’m not getting any younger, but I build my own PCs and stuff, so it’s not like I still listen to my 8-track.
But I never understood why people would rather text than just call somebody. I can see it if you’re in junior high and you don’t want the math teacher to know you’re not studying, but not for normal people. So I assumed that adults who text do so in meetings or whatever, where talking would disturb other people.
But I’m watching the game, and they just had a commercial for a great new product – you speak into a phone, and it converts it into a text message.
Why would anybody do that? Wouldn’t dictating a text be just as loud as talking on the phone? Wouldn’t anybody who can receive a text also have voicemail if he isn’t able to answer the phone right then? And isn’t the result going to be Engrish, at best?
Not to mention leaving a text record of your private conversations, for the convenience of reporters and prosecutors.
I see nothing but disadvantages. Why do people want to pay $400 or whatever for the ability to use their phone in this way?
Can I make a fortune by inventing a phone that takes the text that was transcribed from speech by the sender, and converts it to voice so the receiver can hear it out loud? So instead of just a phone call, you have an Engrish conversation that sounds like it’s read by Stephen Hawking?
Seriously, what am I missing?
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### Author:  [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/2 "2012-01-23T02:16:37Z")
Texts don’t need to be retrieved like an email or voicemail. But unlike a call, they can be responded to when convenient. So, as soon as my husband gets out of a meeting, he immediately sees a message from me and Immediately sees what it is. So, if the message is that I’m stuck in a meeting and he needs to pick up the kids, he sees it right away.
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### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/3 "2012-01-23T02:24:36Z")
1. I don’t like talking on the phone.
2. I especially hate small talk on the phone.
3. Most of what I have to say/ask is actually pretty short and to the point.
4. Unlike email, text messages are sent to phones, which people almost always have on and check often. While some people have email set up on their phones, many don’t. When I’m out, I have no access to my email; I’d have to wait to get home to use email.
So a text is my favorite form of quick communication. I can find out what sort of dip you want me to bring to the party without a 20 minute discussion of the weather, and I can do it with reasonable expectation of getting an answer back within the hour while I’m still at the grocery store…
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### Author:  [@brocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brocks)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/4 "2012-01-23T02:28:37Z")
> [@WhyNot](#):
>
> 1. I don’t like talking on the phone.
> 2. I especially hate small talk on the phone.
> 3. Most of what I have to say/ask is actually pretty short and to the point.
That all makes perfect sense, but for anyone who knows you well, doesn’t receiving a text from you tell them that you don’t really care for _their_ small talk?
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### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/5 "2012-01-23T02:37:10Z")
> [@brocks](#):
>
> That all makes perfect sense, but for anyone who knows you well, doesn’t receiving a text from you tell them that you don’t really care for _their_ small talk?
Perhaps. Not seeing the downside here. 😃
I have lovely, wonderful conversations with people in person and via written social media, but yes, pretty much all my friends know that I’m “not a phone person”.
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### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/6 "2012-01-23T02:41:41Z")
> [@brocks](#):
>
> That all makes perfect sense, but for anyone who knows you well, doesn’t receiving a text from you tell them that you don’t really care for _their_ small talk?
You say that like it’s a bad thing.
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### Author:  [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/7 "2012-01-23T02:48:46Z")
It’s for simple, vaguely non-time-critical conversation.
Far easier for me to get a text when I’m driving to the supermarket saying “Forgot to say - get butter” than for my SO to call, for me to answer, to go through the motions of pleasantries, then get to the meat of the conversation. That text would take 10 seconds to write and 2 seconds to read. Simple.
It’s great for anything simple where it is important that the person reads it _eventually_. Where it does break down is if there’s any kind of complexity. I am unusual among some of my (younger) friends in that I don’t bother texting if we’re trying to make arrangements. Text convos like this fictional example annoy the hell out of me:
“See you in the pub.”
- “Just to confirm, which pub again?”
“Dog & Duck”
- “Thought we were going to the King’s Head”
“Yeah but Jane’s ex works behind the bar so she didn’t want to go there”
“Thought I’d txted you to say that?”
- “No.”
“Oh well sorry. See you at the Dog & Duck at 9”
- “Thought we said 8”
“Pete can’t make it until 9, he’s at football”
- “OK then, want to meet for food beforehand?”
“Yeah OK, where do you want to go?”
Etc. etc. ad infinitum trying to decide where to eat.
Much prefer to do that sort of by actually talking to someone in a 30-second call - far less time and effort.
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### Author:  [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/8 "2012-01-23T02:58:09Z")
I can text to multiple recipients, which can help in party-organizing situations.
Texts are also easier than voice calls or messages to receive and respond to in noisy or crowded conditions, like on a bus on the freeway coming home from work.
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### Author:  [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/9 "2012-01-23T02:59:51Z")
It’s discreet, yet near realtime, unlike email.
Convenient way to relay information. (“While you’re at the store, pick up some peanut butter.”)
No need for pleasantries, catching up, “How’s your day?” or having to go into “conversation” mode.
No need to drop everything right then and there, because someone wants to know if you can do something later. (Great for us ADHDers 😉 )
As for the Speech to Text, it’s great while driving (since it’s outlawed here). I just hit the home key, and say “Tell [my wife] I’m on my way home.” … boom she gets the txt, and that’s it.
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### Author:  [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/10 "2012-01-23T03:03:25Z")
My favorite use for texting is for what I’d call watercooler or roommate conversations – small, topical check-ins. The sort of things you’d say to a friend that’s nearby: you see the game last night, do you remember the name of that thing, any good shows coming up I should check out?
None of these are important enough to warrant a call, and email is more cumbersome.
It’s a way to stay in touch with friends I don’t have the luxury of having much facetime with. Given that I have very little in common with any of my coworkers, texting really helps me stay sane at work.
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### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/11 "2012-01-23T03:05:26Z")
> [@Sunspace](#):
>
> Texts are also easier than voice calls or messages to receive and respond to in noisy or crowded conditions, like on a bus on the freeway coming home from work.
Or at my desk at work where the reception is shitty. If I get a call there, I have to walk to a better place while telling whoever called to wait until I get a better signal. That’s fine if a conversation needs to happen but a pain in the ass if I could have just gotten a text that says, “let’s push out dinner by 30 minutes.”
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### Author:  [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/12 "2012-01-23T03:06:52Z")
A phonecall is a commitment. A text can be tossed off in seconds.
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### Author:  [@slm2955](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slm2955)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/13 "2012-01-23T03:08:01Z")
Texting is convenient when you don’t feel like talking but want people to know you do care.
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### Author:  [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/14 "2012-01-23T03:10:53Z")
I’m in my 60s, so I’m no spring chicken, and I love it. Sometimes I don’t want to talk to the person. Sometimes I just have a sentence. Once someone called me because she was trying to call a mutual frien and co-worker to tell her our boss had unexpectedly quit. The friend was at lunch and wasn’t answering her phone. I suggested she text her, because you can read “Ann quit” in a fraction of a second. I think it was the first text my one friend had sent and the first the other had received, but it got her attention!
Like any method of communication, it’s suitable for certain purposes. I still talk to people on my landline. I talk to them on my cell. I email. I write letters. I (very rarely) use Twitter, and I text. It has been many, many years since I sent a telegram, however. Are they even still around?
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/15 "2012-01-23T03:13:15Z")
> [@brocks](#):
>
> But I’m watching the game, and they just had a commercial for a great new product – you speak into a phone, and it converts it into a text message.
>
> Why would anybody do that? Wouldn’t dictating a text be just as loud as talking on the phone? Wouldn’t anybody who can receive a text also have voicemail if he isn’t able to answer the phone right then?
I can think of a few things you might be missing:
1. Just because someone’s _able_ to answer the phone right then doesn’t mean it might not be a bit of an inconvenience to do so. When you text someone, they’ll check the message at their convenience, not yours. So you don’t have to worry about bothering them, or thinking “Is this really important enough to interrupt whatever they’re currently doing for?”
2. It can be faster and easier to speak a sentence or two than to type it, but faster to read the message than to listen to it, so the kind of product you mention could maximize efficiency for both sender and receiver.
3. This could be a boon for communicating with the hard-of-hearing.
4. The gee-whiz factor. In order for this to sell, it doesn’t necessarily have to be useful; there just has to be at least a few people who think it’s cool.
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### Author:  [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/16 "2012-01-23T03:18:11Z")
Another great point, **Pai325.** Instant attention grabber if you’re having trouble reaching them.
Also, like **WhyNot,** I hate phones. I rarely have anything to talk to anyone about, unless it’s business or need information. I’d rather see people in person, get together to talk the weather or catch up. Doing that over the phone drives me nuts… I’m usually in the middle of something, and don’t have the time or energy to get into a conversation about something petty right now, etc.
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### Author:  [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/17 "2012-01-23T03:19:49Z")
yeah, texts are useful when you don’t need an immediate response, or when you’re unsure if a phone call might disrupt whatever the recipient is doing.
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### Author:  [@howye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/howye)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/18 "2012-01-23T03:20:54Z")
“what do you want from chipotle?”
I can answer this question in a phone call with a list that my wife won’t remember or text: bowl, pinto beans, chicken, corn salsa, sour cream, and cheese.
Like many my wife will text me that she has a left a place and is on her way home. This way I know she is on the road, she does not take up time telling me, which can be nice when I am trying to get two kids fed or put to bed or whatever.
Short, not time critical transfers of information.
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### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/19 "2012-01-23T03:23:14Z")
> [@howye](#):
>
> “what do you want from chipotle?”
>
> I can answer this question in a phone call with a list that my wife won’t remember or text: bowl, pinto beans, chicken, corn salsa, sour cream, and cheese.
Really good point. Sometimes it’s far better to have something in writing. I’ve been known to ask, “Would you text me your address?” even when I am stuck talking to a person on the phone. Saves them from waiting for me to find a piece of paper and a pen that actually writes, and saves me from having to keep track of little pieces of paper.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/20 "2012-01-23T03:30:47Z")
You can also use a text to send a picture, which you can’t in a phone call. Sometimes I text my fiance from the zoo when I’m volunteering - “Look at this muppet fucking monkey who thinks he’s such a badass!”
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