# 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:** 3
### Author:  [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/41 "2012-01-23T15:50:45Z")
I am an old fart but I love texting.
Most weeks I meet friends for dinner on Thursday night. I get an SMS that says “Food?” and I reply “OK” or else we don’t go.
Yesterday I returned from visiting my parents. They like to know that I got home safely but they were out for the day. I SMS’d them “Home” and that was enough. They are in their 80s but understand the advantages of texting.
---
### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/42 "2012-01-23T16:03:58Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#):
>
> Yesterday I returned from visiting my parents. They like to know that I got home safely but they were out for the day. I SMS’d them “Home” and that was enough. They are in their 80s but understand the advantages of texting.
I do the same thing with my wife. Texting “I arrived safely” or “I’m on my way home now” is often more convenient than trying to make a phone call.
---
### Author:  [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/43 "2012-01-23T16:14:44Z")
> [@brocks](#):
>
> Why do people want to pay $400 or whatever for the ability to use their phone in this way?
I wanted to address this. My texting package costs $5 and I can text using my “dumb phone.” many people have “unlimited talk and text” packages that are also no expensive at all.
texting is not an advanced feature and it doesn’t cost $400. It’s basically free.
---
### Author:  [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/44 "2012-01-23T18:33:04Z")
Think of it like the difference between sending someone a letter or going over to knock on their door. With the former, they can take their time with it, read it when they want to, respond to it if necessary, and move on with their life. Going over for a visit, while more personal, requires that they meet social standards right then and there. They have to offer you a drink, hang up your coat, ask about the kids, etc. They (or you) might not want to go through all that.
---
### Author:  [@brocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brocks)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/45 "2012-01-23T18:39:26Z")
> [@Acsenray](#):
>
> By the way, when you say you’re an old fart, what age are you? I’m in my 40s and I use text messages frequently. The main form of communication that I haven’t yet figured out the value of is Twitter.
I’m in my late 50’s. As I said in my OP, I consider myself current on the hardware side, but I’m feeling older all the time with all the stuff I don’t get. I typically hate 18 of the top 20 songs, I didn’t get texting until now, and things like Twitter and Facebook look so useless to me that I didn’t even bother asking about them.
I guess Twitter is innocuous enough for people who really can’t go very long without telling the world what they had for lunch, but Facebook seems diabolical to me. A few years ago, I would come across the occasional website that had useful information, but required registration. I’d use a throwaway ID and have my stuff in about a minute. Now these same sites require a Facebook login, and they won’t let you on the site until you agree to an absolutely unbelievable (to me) list of crap – you have to agree to give them all kinds of access and authority to your Facebook account.
Obviously I use a throwaway ID for that, too, but it boggles my mind that people actually use their real name and pictures, and pictures of their family and friends, on a thing like that.
---
### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/46 "2012-01-23T18:47:10Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#):
>
> I wanted to address this. My texting package costs $5 and I can text using my “dumb phone.” many people have “unlimited talk and text” packages that are also no expensive at all.
>
> texting is not an advanced feature and it doesn’t cost $400. It’s basically free.
Thank you. What is with people who think that the monthly cost on a smart phone approaches the cost of the rent money? The minimum plan on an iPhone at AT&T is like $58/month. That’s phone calls, data and texting, all at some minimum amount. If you maxed out every thing which would be an insane amount of call minutes, a huge amount of data and unlimited texts, you’d still pay less than $110/month.
---
### Author:  [@brocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brocks)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/47 "2012-01-23T18:48:41Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#):
>
> texting is not an advanced feature and it doesn’t cost $400. It’s basically free.
When I said $400, I was referring to the specific phone in the ad, that translates voice to text. I admit I have no idea how much it actually costs, I just assumed it was in the same ballpark as an I-phone.
---
### Author:  [@brocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brocks)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/48 "2012-01-23T18:57:20Z")
> [@hajario](#):
>
> What is with people who think that the monthly cost on a smart phone approaches the cost of the rent money?
I was just talking about the initial purchase of the phone, not the monthly cost.
> [@](#):
>
> The minimum plan on an iPhone at AT&T is like $58/month. That’s phone calls, data and texting, all at some minimum amount. If you maxed out every thing which would be an insane amount of call minutes, a huge amount of data and unlimited texts, you’d still pay less than $110/month.
Well, that seems pretty high to me, considering I get (essentially) unlimited phone and internet for less than half of that. The uses given in this thread have convinced me that texting would be worth an extra ten bucks a month for some people (not me), but I can’t imagine anybody paying an extra hundred unless he’s like a traveling salesman who needs to keep in constant touch with the home office.
---
### Author:  [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/49 "2012-01-23T19:04:44Z")
Texting is for when you want to communicate but you don’t want to talk. There is a difference.
Btw, there’s nothing wrong with playing your 8-track.
---
### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/50 "2012-01-23T19:10:35Z")
> [@brocks](#):
>
> When I said $400, I was referring to the specific phone in the ad, that translates voice to text. I admit I have no idea how much it actually costs, I just assumed it was in the same ballpark as an I-phone.
An older model (3GS) iPhone is free with a contract. The latest iPhone with the maximum amount of storage is $300.
> [@brocks](#):
>
> I was just talking about the initial purchase of the phone, not the monthly cost.
Got it. My apologies.
Another example is when my (now ex-)girl friend was in the hospital a couple of years ago. I have three sisters, two parents and two step-parents who wanted to know how things were going. Texting “MRI looks good” to all of them at once made an already stressful time much easier… except for my Mom who refused to learn to text.
For Mom had to walk to the closest place with good phone reception. That was way down the hall and down the elevator and across the lobby and outside in the rain. She is in her mid-70’s and very intelligent. I finally told her enough was enough and she was going to learn to text. Now she loves it. I swear within two weeks I’d get texts from here like “K. C U soon. Dont keep ur old Mom waiting. lol”
---
### Author:  [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/51 "2012-01-23T19:28:45Z")
Aha, I read “for the ability to use their phone in this way” as referring to texting, not the voice-to-text service. But even so, I can’t imagine that service is expensive at all. Google has a service that transcribes your voicemails to text and it’s free. [Dragon Dictation](http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dragon-dictation/id341446764?mt=8), a speech-to-text app for iphone is free. etc.
If what you’re used to is a landline, it makes sense that you would assume that all these cellphone services are expensive. My last landline (cancelled in 1999) cost a fortune and they nickle & dimed me over every damn thing: voice mail: extra, caller id: extra, speed dial: extra, etc. (not to mention the crazy prices charged for long distance and worse, interLATA. remember interLATA? what a freaking scam).
However in the cell phone world these things are mostly free, or when considering smartphone apps, many are between free and a couple of dollars to buy, and free to use.
---
### Author:  [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/52 "2012-01-23T19:29:08Z")
I’m severely hearing-impaired and cannot use the phone. TTY is a pain in the butt, because of the relay operator. People simply don’t want to bother with accommodating the hearing-impaired.
Texting FINALLY puts us in a point of equality. I can use a cell phone! I can contact my family!
Thank God for texting!
~VOW
---
### Author:  [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/53 "2012-01-23T19:35:17Z")
> [@arseNal](#):
>
> This is possibly because the person sees who’s calling, and thinks it might be important enough to pick up even in the meeting. Then when he finds out it’s not really that important, he says he can’t talk. So he had to make the decision to pick up, whisper uncomfortably when he found out he made the wrong decision, and you feel bad for interrupting him.
>
> All of this is neatly avoided with texting.
Yes. My husband will always answer, and if he is in a meeting or very busy, he’ll say “I’ll call you back,” which gives me about one second to say “I NEED YOU,” like the time his mother wrecked her car and I had to tell him to get to the hospital. If I’m calling to see if he has band practice tonight, he can call me back.
Unfortunately, on our cell phone plan, texting is exorbitant, so we disabled it because of all the spam we were getting. When our contract comes up for renewal, we’ll look at it again.
---
### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/54 "2012-01-23T22:57:02Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#):
>
> Google has a service that transcribes your voicemails to text and it’s free.
It’s built into the Android so it’s free, and it works just fine.
---
### Author:  [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)
#### Post date: [January 24, 2012, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/55 "2012-01-24T04:27:25Z")
> [@brocks](#):
>
> I’m in my late 50’s. As I said in my OP, I consider myself current on the hardware side, but I’m feeling older all the time with all the stuff I don’t get. I typically hate 18 of the top 20 songs, I didn’t get texting until now, and things like Twitter and Facebook look so useless to me that I didn’t even bother asking about them.
>
> I guess Twitter is innocuous enough for people who really can’t go very long without telling the world what they had for lunch, but Facebook seems diabolical to me. A few years ago, I would come across the occasional website that had useful information, but required registration. I’d use a throwaway ID and have my stuff in about a minute. Now these same sites require a Facebook login, and they won’t let you on the site until you agree to an absolutely unbelievable (to me) list of crap – you have to agree to give them all kinds of access and authority to your Facebook account.
>
> Obviously I use a throwaway ID for that, too, but it boggles my mind that people actually use their real name and pictures, and pictures of their family and friends, on a thing like that.
I’m 34 and into plenty of geeky tech stuff and agree 100% on all but texting and the fact that you only hate 18 of the top 20 songs.
---
### Author:  [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)
#### Post date: [January 24, 2012, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/56 "2012-01-24T04:42:15Z")
> [@freckafree](#):
>
> Not to hijack, but this has brought up one of my greatest pet peeves – people who answer their phones and whisper urgently, “I can’t talk. I’m in a meeting.” Dude. If you can’t talk, don’t answer your phone! That’s what voice mail is for! Your urgent whisper has now made me feel guilty for calling at a bad time (even though I’m not a mind reader) and you’ve just interrupted your meeting you didn’t want to interrupt.
Unless you have a button to send a call to voice-mail (and remember what it is) - it is likely more disruptive to let the phone ring/sing long enough to go to voice mail then to answer and tell you I can’t talk.
---
### Author:  [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)
#### Post date: [January 24, 2012, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/57 "2012-01-24T21:29:15Z")
> [@Fubaya](#):
>
> Texting can be more considerate when people are at work. There’s nothing worse than calling someone’s phone while they’re talking to a client or customer or when their boss is around etc.
I think this is probably one of the dividing lines between people who love texting and people like me who think it’s at best marginally useful in certain situations. It would honestly never occur to me to think about the least intrusive way to contact someone about a non-urgent personal matter when they’re at work, because they’re at work and are presumably trying to get some damn work done.
---
### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [January 24, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/58 "2012-01-24T21:33:56Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#):
>
> It would honestly never occur to me to think about the least intrusive way to contact someone about a non-urgent personal matter when they’re at work, because they’re at work and are presumably trying to get some damn work done.
We’re fast approaching – if not already living in – a world in which everyone is working around the clock. There are no longer clear dividing lines between not-work and work. People are weaving them together.
---
### Author:  [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)
#### Post date: [January 24, 2012, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/59 "2012-01-24T23:43:30Z")
> [@brocks](#):
>
> I’m in my late 50’s…
> Facebook seems diabolical to me.
Early 50s here. I don’t text often enough to get an unlimited plan, but at only 5 cents per text, I find it extremely useful for letting my wife know that I’m stuck at a meeting so I’ll be a few minutes late for our restaurant reservation, or things like that.
I’ll admit that I was a Facebook skeptic at first, but about three years ago my wife convinced me to join. Since then, I’ve gotten back in touch with dozens of people I’d lost track of from high school, college, and previous jobs (and let go of some old grudges with a few of them). I got back together with two childhood friends just months before they passed away. I’ve joined groups with common interests, and through them learned of museum exhibits, band performances, magazine articles, and television programs that I would have missed out on otherwise. I’ve had real conversations with authors whose work I’ve admired. I made friends with the daughter of one of my father’s old Army buddies. And I’ve shared photos, stories, and laughs almost daily with people I typically wouldn’t see or talk to for months at a time.
I’ve blocked all the games and most of the apps from accessing my Facebook account, and what’s left, I found to be wonderful.
---
### Author:  [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2012, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358/60 "2012-01-25T01:52:10Z")
1] Texting conveys most important information more quickly and concisely than a conversation; plus it’s stored for review as needed.
2]Texting can be used at all sorts of times when it isn’t appropriate or feasible to make or pick up a phone call or have a conversation (most include greeting, pleasantries, small talk, information exchange, pleasantries, farewell - it can take a while).
3] I don’t really like talking on the phone, anyway. I do love to chat but only in person. I barely use my email; I don’t have an office job, my only computer access is when I’m home.
4]Texting is the best way to ‘stay in touch’ more casually with the people you like/love but don’t get to see or talk to all the time. I also love Facebook for this reason. 🙂 My friends and I may not get to (or want to) talk on the phone or see each other in person every day/more than once every couple months (varying), but through text and social media we are able to stay up to date on important life events, and laugh together. It’s priceless IMO.
[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358.md?page=2)
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-an-old-fart-understand-texting/610358.md?page=4)