I’ve never texted and I asked them not to set up my phone to receive them. I don’t know anyone who would text something. I guess it’s for shy school kids, kids passing notes in class, and for when you run out of minutes. (When I was in school I hung on the phone for hours. Before cellphones, local calls were free. )
Anybody adult find a use for texting?
Texting is perfect for “I’ll be home at 9ish”, “Don’t forget to pick up milk”, and “Hey, plan changed, we’re gonna meet at this place instead”.
It’s not for lengthy conversations, but it’s ideal for imparting information, and less intrusive than a phone call.
Also if you don’t particularly feel like talking to the person.
We’ve had a number of threads in IMHO about this, but I screwed up my search and am not going to wait for it to recycle, so I’ll just repeat the common one: “It’s like sending a short E-mail when you are unable to use the voice feature of a cellphone or the person on the other end would like a written version rather than voice.”
Examples:
My husband once made it home from a business trip just in time to play in a concert he had scheduled. I had my cell set to vibrate, and sure enough it went off in the concert – his mother was calling me. I texted her that he was back and on stage. (I knew she had tried him first.)
I alleviated her worry, got her to stop calling his cell while he was playing, avoided having to step over people to leave the auditorium to make a call, and dodged a call from my mother-in-law. Voilà.
It’s used a lot in libraries where you aren’t supposed to talk on phones. It’s also good for when you’re in the lockerroom. You can pretend your texting while you’re really taking photos of naked people
It’s the only way I talk to my college-age stepdaughter. We both have unlimited texting on our respective cell plans, and we’re both lightning fast at it. We can have conversations using text faster than we can actually talk.
and so on.
When I want to tell someone something very quickly without having to have a conversation.
It’s a good way for us and our son to communicate with each other during the school day. He can’t have a phone conversation in class, but he can unobtrusively look at the text I sent him to remind him to do something at school. He has also texted us to ask us to bring him something he forgot to take with him that day.
Sometimes it’s the only way to communicate with him in other situations where you would normally just call. He doesn’t always answer our calls, but he always texts us back. He rarely uses his phone for “voice” - it’s almost all texting with him.
I text people when it’s not practical for me to make a call, or when what I have to say is time-sensitive, but not urgent or significant enough to warrant a call. The number of minutes I’ve used calling has never been a factor.
The last text I sent was to my out-of-state ex, who claims to not be interested in taking my calls or emails, to tell him I was canceling his cell phone service. That’s one conversation I’m glad to not have had to have. I also texted the guy I’ve been seeing on the day I knew he’d be out driving for 5 hours solely for a one-line whine about work. It wasn’t worth a phone call, and I didn’t want to distract him while he was on the road, but I really wanted to vent.
My debate students text me all the time. Not while in rounds, but to let me know how they did, ask when postings are going to be up, to find out if there’s a lunch break, etc. Very handy.
Texting is like sending a telegram. Short, sweet, and reaches your party wherever they may be. It’s no-nonsense, no-frills and more efficient than a telephone call.
Just because kids are the ones that use it the most doesn’t mean it’s a kid thing. They’re just the ones who are most open to doing it while a lot of adults have some of weird mental block for the idea of texting.
I think it’s fan-fucking-tastic!
Texting is fun for the whole family.
All of the above are good answers, plus sometimes a short text: “May I call you on such-and-such a matter?” is a polite way of asking whether the other party will take a call (if they’re not close friends, it’s an awkward hour, or, for whatever reason, you’re not sure they’d want their phone ringing just then.)
It’s fantastic while on the subway. Occasionally I get enough cell signal for a few moments to receive a text. It can be very handy if plans are just coming together or need to be changed. I also have a nice window to send texts when I know hte train will be above ground for a stop or two.
My husband and I both work slightly variable hours, and commute via crowded trains. The people I’m pressed uncomfortably into on a jam-packed train do not need to know I caught the six o’clock and will stop off to get milk on the way home, but my husband does. If he’s working late due to an emergency he doesn’t want to stop to chat to me, but it’s useful for me to know so I can hold dinner for him or eat without him if he’ll be very late.
Likewise if I’m running late to meet friends for dinner, I can let them know without them having to talk on the phone.
It’s also useful for wishing good luck to a friend you know has an interview today - you don’t want to interrupt their preparation, but you can let them know you have your fingers crossed.
I’ve noticed that people on the subways and trains in Tokyo are not allowed to talk on their cell phones (it’s some kind of ordinance), so instead they text constantly.
As others have said, texting is great for rendezvouing. Last week I was to meet my date at Restaurant A, but when I got there, it was gone! I texted her the news and suggested meeting somewhere else. She was on the subway and it was too noisy to talk or listen well on the phone (and that annoys the people around the talker as well). Then later, in Restaurant B, I texted another friend to say where we were, so that he could meet us briefly and return some of my stuff.
I hear deaf people love it.