# Society is doomed - 14,528 texts in one month **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 13, 2009, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/society-is-doomed-14-528-texts-in-one-month/481076 "2009-01-13T12:55:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/society-is-doomed-14-528-texts-in-one-month/481076/21 "2009-01-13T14:48:25Z")
Why would it be more “appropriate”? ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/society-is-doomed-14-528-texts-in-one-month/481076/22 "2009-01-13T14:51:43Z")
Because voice communication is faster, more comfortable, more natural, and conveys more information than trying to type it out on a tiny little keyboard. I didn’t say texting is useless, but if you’re in an environment where you’re dedicating all your attention to texting anyway (and hence, can dedicate all your attention to a call instead), and wish to have a conversational “Hey? What’s up? Today I went out and…” type conversation - why would texting be useful except as a novelty gimmick? ---
**Author:** ![Hi\_Neighbor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hi_neighbor/32/494_2.png) [@Hi\_Neighbor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Neighbor)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/society-is-doomed-14-528-texts-in-one-month/481076/23 "2009-01-13T14:54:40Z")
I wonder if this is the record for texts in one month. Something tells me that 14,528 is not even CLOSE to the record. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/society-is-doomed-14-528-texts-in-one-month/481076/24 "2009-01-13T14:56:35Z")
More comfortable and natural _for you_. Allow me to reiterate…\*\* I hate the phone\*\*. Granted, I also don’t have lengthy conversations via text, that’s what email is for. But it’s pretty absurd to say that anyone who prefers text to phone is hung up on the “novelty gimmick” of texting. It’s immensely useful to people who **hate the phone**. ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/society-is-doomed-14-528-texts-in-one-month/481076/25 "2009-01-13T15:09:55Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > * * * > > You might be amused to read about the establishment reaction when telephones were invented. I _would_ be amused to read such a thing. Shame on you for not providing a link by which one can scratch that itch! 😉 The problem here, if there is one, is not the medium. It scarcely matters if she is punching away at a cell phone or painting random thoughts on the side of her cave. The question is whether she is being _overly_ communicative. One wonders what percentage of her messages amounted to no more than the likes of “LOL”. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/society-is-doomed-14-528-texts-in-one-month/481076/26 "2009-01-13T15:11:13Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > It’s immensely useful to people who **hate the phone**. Good for you. My main issue with people texting each other instead of talking isn’t personal preference, it’s the jerks that are distracted by text conversations while they’re out doing other things. (Since you say you use e-mail for longer conversations, you’re not in this group). I’ve had plenty of long conversations in text–at my computer. When I’m out doing other things, I’m doing something else, not texting. If you’re able to devote your attention to a conversation, then you can either call the person or find a computer. If you can’t, you shouldn’t be texting. Some people don’t seem to understand that though, and it can be incredibly rude. Sometimes a quick text message _is_ more appropriate. But lengthy conversations in text is not what phones are for, and they are not well-suited to it. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/society-is-doomed-14-528-texts-in-one-month/481076/27 "2009-01-13T15:14:36Z")
As opposed to the jerks who are distracted by \*talking \*on the phone while they’re out doing other things? If you’re allowing yourself to be distracted by your cell phone while you’re performing some OTHER function that you should be giving your full attention to, it scarcely matters whether you’re talking or texting. Either way, you’re behaving like a jerk. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/society-is-doomed-14-528-texts-in-one-month/481076/28 "2009-01-13T15:20:35Z")
> [@haymarketmartyr](#): > > Do you think this kid needs badly to get a life? A real life? Yeah! All the time she spends communicating with her friends is definitely an indication that her social life is lacking! And damn this newfangled “texting” anyhow! ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/society-is-doomed-14-528-texts-in-one-month/481076/29 "2009-01-13T15:25:20Z")
I just don’t like texting because it costs more for me to use. The following applies to my personal communications, I don’t have a lot of business communication needs: Listen, 90% of the time I’m either at home or at work. When I’m at home, I want to use the landline I pay a bajillion dollars a month for (which is still cheaper than switching to using a cell as my primary line), plus it’s the best way to get my attention. When I’m at work, my priority is work, so either email or instant message me and I’ll get back to you when I can. I want my cell to be for emergencies or urgent situations only, which is why I’m on a prepaid plan. Seriously, just call me. I text sloooowly, I can talk quicker to you than I can text you. Christ, almost everyone here uses the same cell provider, which just happens to offer free cell calling between the customers on its network. _Just call me._ Plus I’m bitter about people who text constantly when I’m with them. Dude, if you want to talk to your boyfriend so badly, go visit him instead. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/society-is-doomed-14-528-texts-in-one-month/481076/30 "2009-01-13T15:26:58Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Because voice communication is faster, more comfortable, more natural, and conveys more information than trying to type it out on a tiny little keyboard. > > I didn’t say texting is useless, but if you’re in an environment where you’re dedicating all your attention to texting anyway (and hence, can dedicate all your attention to a call instead), and wish to have a conversational “Hey? What’s up? Today I went out and…” type conversation - why would texting be useful except as a novelty gimmick? Excellent points. To your question, I think the key advantages of texting are that it is asynchronous and not limited to one individual at a time. I suspect Chatty Cathy’s 14K texts were being delivered into dozens of simultaneous conversations. Texting does not take the place of genuine verbal conversation. I wholeheartedly agree with this. For me (as a genuine geezer) the appeal of texting is that I control the conversation. It is difficult to do that (and still remain civil) when there is an active voice exchange as the medium. Some people (not you, of course) go on and on. Some people call my phone even if I am engaged in very personal events. Some people leave VMs that are 3 minutes of babble followed by…“well; anyway…ummm…just call me.” Some people think they need to call me all the time. Some people call me for trivia. And so on. None of which diminishes your key points, and I understand where you are coming from. In the end it’s the communicator; not the medium per se. One more thing: when I dialed up my first modem conversation, it was 1988 (I think…) and the speed was 150 bps. No, not kbps. On a Mac, and not the fancy 512 one. Other than being slower, the appeal was exactly the same as these messages we are now exchanging here. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/society-is-doomed-14-528-texts-in-one-month/481076/31 "2009-01-13T15:33:02Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > As opposed to the jerks who are distracted by \*talking \*on the phone while they’re out doing other things? You know, I think I sidetracked myself from my own point. (and it is just as bad–I’ve just never had someone talking to me and the phone at the same time). Simply put, phones are not for texting. It is a function of them in many cases, but not their purpose, and it’s not a function they perform particularly well at that. The girl in the OP sounds almost OCD to me–it’s perfectly fine to not talk to your friends 24/7. And if you really _must_, there’s better ways of doing it. Ones with less potential to cause a giant bill at the end of the month. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/society-is-doomed-14-528-texts-in-one-month/481076/32 "2009-01-13T15:39:48Z")
But many phones \*are \*for texting, and perform that function very well indeed. Honestly, saying “phones aren’t for texting” is akin to saying “computers aren’t for emailing”. It’s certainly not the primary purpose that their creator intended, anyway. Simply put, texting is \*not \*fundamentally different from, or inferior to, any other form of communication. It’s silly, and short-sighted, and yes… geezerish to insist that it is. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/society-is-doomed-14-528-texts-in-one-month/481076/33 "2009-01-13T15:40:01Z")
> [@Hi\_Neighbor](#): > > I wonder if this is the record for texts in one month. Something tells me that 14,528 is not even CLOSE to the record. Nope, not even close: > [@](#): > > Deepak Sharma went on record with the Guinness Book for having sent the most SMS messages in a single month: 182,689. We’re not sure if that’s total, or unique messages, but if you’d like us to break that down for you, that’s about 6,100 messages a day, 253 an hour, 4.2 a minute, or a new one every 14 seconds or so. So basically this guy gave up a month of his life sending texts—way to go, dude. His other reward? A 1,411 page bill (don’t worry, he has an unlimited texting plan) > > SOURCE: [Indian man sends 182,689 SMS messages in one month](http://www.engadget.com/2005/05/11/indian-man-sends-182-689-sms-messages-in-one-month/) I agree with others above that I find texting preferable in many cases to making a phone call. That said this girl is sending a text every two minutes while she is awake. I’d call that excessive. Presumably at some point she should be paying attention in class or to her homework or hopefully enjoying a book or even a TV show or movie with the family. I would definitely put a stop to it were it my daughter. Some texting is fine but as with most things moderation is ideal. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/society-is-doomed-14-528-texts-in-one-month/481076/34 "2009-01-13T15:40:27Z")
Damn. She’s shattered my personal record of 4,800 in a month. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/society-is-doomed-14-528-texts-in-one-month/481076/35 "2009-01-13T15:51:05Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > Simply put, texting is \*not \*fundamentally different from, or inferior to, any other form of communication. Believe it or not, we do agree on this point. ---
**Author:** ![grayhairedmomma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/47e85d/32.png) [@grayhairedmomma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grayhairedmomma)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/society-is-doomed-14-528-texts-in-one-month/481076/36 "2009-01-13T15:56:19Z")
> [@Jayn\_Newell](#): > > If you’re able to devote your attention to a conversation, then you can either call the person or find a computer. If you can’t, you shouldn’t be texting. Come on, that’s getting ridiculous. If I’m in a quiet area waiting for something or on the bus or the subway, isn’t it less disruptive to the people around me, for me to have a text conversation instead of making a phone call? ---
**Author:** ![Ruminator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Ruminator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruminator)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/society-is-doomed-14-528-texts-in-one-month/481076/37 "2009-01-13T16:03:57Z")
> [@kushiel](#): > > Seriously, just call me. I text sloooowly, I can talk quicker to you than I can text you. … _Just call me._ 😛 Please, _do not call me_ unless you’ve won the lottery or bleeding profusely from a gunshot wound. And please do not leave me voice mail. Please don’t give out my cell phone # indiscriminately. And don’t ring my landline either. People talk sooooo slooooowly. Typical people only talk about 100 **w** ords- **p** er- **m** inute. However, I can read text at 300 - 500 wpm (like most readers.) Also, please don’t schedule hour long business conference calls to orally recite 10 PowerPoint slides than I can _read_ on my own in 5 minutes. I’m fascinated how new technologies reveal more and more differences in humans. I believe the preference of text vs voice to be genetic. When technology introduces telepathic comm via brain implants, another disagreement over preferences will be revealed. In any case, it seems like the proper etiquette is to communicate in the method the receiver prefers. If you want to initiate a communication with a texter, then text him, if he’s a talker, then call him. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/society-is-doomed-14-528-texts-in-one-month/481076/38 "2009-01-13T16:09:27Z")
> [@Ruminator](#): > > : I believe the preference of text vs voice to be genetic. I may communicate with people more over text mediums - IM and e-mail - than voice, yet I’ve got a strong disdain for conversational phone texting. Where do my genetics lie? ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/society-is-doomed-14-528-texts-in-one-month/481076/39 "2009-01-13T16:14:54Z")
> [@Ruminator](#): > > People talk sooooo slooooowly. Typical people only talk about 100 **w** ords- **p** er- **m** inute. They type even slower. I didn’t quite make 60wpm last time I tested. Touch typing on a keyboard. And I was told that was a _high_ mark. **grayhairedmomma** , my first question would be ‘why?’ (My second being ‘why am I so worked up over this right now?’ I usually don’t care). But I would never say ‘never text’. I just don’t understand the constant texting some people do. I’m not even a geezer! I swear I missed being in the ‘cell-phone at the hip’ generation by a year. Maybe I never will get it. I don’t have anything against text communication specifically–maybe I’m just old-fashioned. ---
**Author:** ![Ruminator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Ruminator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruminator)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/society-is-doomed-14-528-texts-in-one-month/481076/40 "2009-01-13T16:20:29Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I may communicate with people more over text mediums - IM and e-mail - than voice, yet I’ve got a strong disdain for conversational phone texting. Where do my genetics lie? Your DNA is predisposed to hate phone texting. I just didn’t make the categories fine grained enough.🙂 I prefer text over voice, but I absolutely despise Instant Messaging. How’s that for an inconsistency? Emails yes, but IMs with their annoying popups and advertisements blinking on my desktop drives me insane. IMs also give people the expectation that I’ll respond within 5 seconds of their ping. People ask, _“what’s your AOL AIM or Yahoo IM or MSN Messenger id?”_ I tell them I don’t have one and they think I’m from another planet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/society-is-doomed-14-528-texts-in-one-month/481076.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/society-is-doomed-14-528-texts-in-one-month/481076.md?page=3)