Since we're talking about TEXTING...

[golfgal]

I just wonder what will happen to interpersonal communication skills for the under 25 crowd. There's something to be said about talking with someone, hearing the emotion and inflection in their voice and reacting to that. You can bring up questions and issues much faster (which is probably why texting is so popular!). I am afraid they will lose the ability to effectively communicate verbally, particularly the very young kids who have grown up with texting and haven't had a chance to develop those interpersonal skills.

My son was on the receiving end of the "breakup by text" and let me tell you that is just wrong. It was a girl he had been with for 2 1/2 years, he was totally commited to her, and we had just taken her out to dinner. We considered her a part of our family. On our way home, he got the text.

As others have said, it is useful for quick update messages, but people have whole conversations via text! But I am sure it is here to stay.

DD13 did that last year to her 'boyfriend". I told her that if she ever did that again she would lose her phone permanently. We then had a nice talk about being responsible including if you were 'mature' enough to have a 'boyfriend' you are mature enough to break up with him in person. Honestly though, it isn't any different then breaking up over the phone, which is what we did back in the age.

 

[bicker]

There are many substantial advantages to TXTing over voice conversations. Use the tool you feel is best for the conversation you want to have.

 

[Savsmommy]

DH and I text all the time. I dont know how we lived without it.

 

[KimmyDisneyNerd]

I talk on the phone for 8+ hours a day for work. I love texting! I usually don't have friends very long if they don't text

 

[MrsPete]

Texting has positive uses:
Sending a message to someone you know can't answer right now; he can read the message later at his convenience.
Sending a message to someone who's in a meeting and isn't free to speak (or who wants to speak to his business partner without allowing everyone else to hear).
I have a friend whose husband has throat cancer, and speaking is painful for him. He's texting to her rather than writing notes.

However, teens have taken it to the extreme -- it's an obsession with them. Last year I chaperoned the prom. Many of the kids were sitting around at the prom TEXTING ONE ANOTHER! After spending so much money and effort to dress up for "the dance", they spent their time texting? And, of course, it's a distraction to them in class too. I'm starting to see texting lingo show up in formal writing in class; teens don't have much of a sense for the fact that what's appropriate for one setting isn't right for another setting.

Of course, a couple years ago all teens could think about was My Space. Now it's still popular, but it isn't such an obsession. I wonder if texting will follow this pattern.

 

[Feralpeg]

I don't text. DD does it a lot. Personally, I don't like being tied to a phone. I call someone if and when I want to talk to them. I'm not a big phone user...I definitely don't want to be answering messages every few minutes via text. Don't misunderstand. I'm a very friendly person. I just prefer face to face conversation. If I can't have that, my time is mine and I don't want to share it.

 

[OK!]

I text quite a bit with my boyfriend because he's an attorney and I'm never sure when he's going to be meeting with clients or in court or otherwise indisposed. The text message tells him what I need to tell him without his having to take time to call voice mail or worry that it might be something critically important ('cause it almost never is). I also use it with a friend who keeps really weird hours because she can ignore a text that comes in when she's asleep, but it's a lot harder to ignore a ringing phone. I dunno...it's kinda like a nudge, like, "Hey, if you're not busy right now, gimme a call back."

 

[Keli]

I would reather text than call just about anyone.
I'm not a phone person. It's just not my style of communication (while, surprising enough I love to have long chats with my family, friends person to person, just hate the phone.)

 

[Barb D]

My DD broke up with her boyfriend via text. But most of their relationship had been via text (he lived 45 minutes away and they only saw each other in person every other week or so) and she was out of town for two weeks at the time. She didn't want to wait until she got back. I tried to convince her to at least call him, but she was more comfortable doing it that way.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

He can receive a text while he's busy and answer it as soon as he's not.

This is why I text certain people. I don't want to cut into family time and often only want to send a quick reminder of a meeting in the morning or some other such small something. That way they can respond - or not - when it's convenient to them.

 

[Nancy]

I talk on the phone for 8+ hours a day for work. I love texting! I usually don't have friends very long if they don't text

Me too, I am on the phone all day and the last thing I want to do when I get home is talk some more.

Plus, we can't get personal phone calls at work so if they need to reach me they can text me, I an peek at them and if I need to then I can take personal time off the phones to respond. Usually it is just one of the kids telling me something.

My daughters also prefer that we text them when they are out with friends so the friends don't know it is mom or dad checking in with them (usually dad cause he tends to be a helicopter parent and I'm laid back)

 

[Froggyswife]

I don't text very often. Only when dd is at school and I need to tell her something like-found your keys they are on the dinning room table-(actual message one morning she couldn't find her keys and had a meltdown because MOM had to drive her to school that morning OH THE EMBARASSMENT! ) Mainly I think it takes too much time to type out a message when all you have to do is push one button to call the person you need to get a message to. NO WAY I could handle texting and driving! I don't even like to use my cell phone at all when I drive. It's too distracting. (I tend to talk with my hands so talking and driving isn't a good thing for me.)

 

[L107ANGEL]

I text all the time. I am not always able to sit for a conversation and a quick text is all thats needed.
Oldest DD actually texted me 2 weeks ago with "mom, can I get married in your back yard on NYE"

 

[geffric]

we have unlimted texting.. both teens text all of the time.. I am not sure to who but constantly.. SIL had to take the phone away from them at Xmas dinner so they would be part of the family.. LOL.. it was way too embarrasing .. but didn't phase either one of them.. DS#2 has over 4000 texts per month.. it have no idea what he texts about.. but most are to his gf.. Niece has a limit of 500 texts per month.. most of them are to my kids..

I text them to find out where they are, what time arriving home stuff like that..

 

[KristaTX]

Aside from the driving and other safety concerns, my biggest issue with teens texting is what I have seen with my niece and my nephew.

I like the ability to text, and do so occasionally. Like e-mail, it can be a time saver. I maybe send 100 texts in a month. . .

My problem with teen texting is that it can be rude and disrespectful when done to the extreme. The last couple of times (including yesterday) that my 16-year old niece has been in town to visit with us and my parents, she has spent most of her time texting. It is so bad that it is to the point where she is pretending to pay attention to us, but really can't because she is so distracted. When my dad wants to go take some photographs with her or go for a walk, he has to say "Leave the phone there on the table".

We know she loves us and enjoys spending time with us, but with her it seems to be a real addiction, and I think it hurts my parents' feelings . It hurts mine.

A few years ago, my mom took my nephew (age 17) to WDW as a graduation present. He had been with us before, and he always wanted to go back just with her as a special trip. Well, it turned out he spent most of his time texting a friend back home. It was so bad that she didn't enjoy the trip nearly as much as she had hoped. I felt really badly for my mom .

I don't understand why my sister and other parents don't teach their kids that there are inappropriate times to text such as when you are visiting people face-to-face. An occasional text is fine, but constant texting ?

Maybe the newest class to be taught in school should be "Texting Etiquette 101".

 

[Feralpeg]

Maybe the newest class to be taught in school should be "Texting Etiquette 101".

So true. I had to get after DD recently. We were having dinner with my sister and some friends. Every couple of minutes she was texting her boyfriend. I told her she could be out of touch with him long enough to have a meal with us. It was rude to text while eating with others.

 

[bicker]

Dunno how much difference TXTing etiquette classes would make, given how ineffective regular etiquette, mail etiquette and telephone etiquette classes have had in the past. (In other words, TXTing is no difference than any other form of communication.)

 

[rascalmom]

LOL! How old are some of you!! You sound like my grandparents did about the phone, then video games, then walkmans etc..! "These kids these days....!"

I'm 47 and I admit I text quite a bit. Of course, I have two dd's - ages 16 and 20, so most of my texts are to & from them. DH text some too though - if he is busy seeing patients, I can send him a text & he will glance at it as he has time. Much quicker than leaving & retrieving a voicemail.

It's great for grocery lists!

I text a bit with my friends, but I prefer to talk on the phone when visiting. Texting is usually just a quick - "I'm on my way" or a quick bit of news. In the past few weeks - there have been a lot of "Boomer Sooner's!" shared.

Now with my dd20, I text with her quite a bit when she is away at college. It is great because she keeps me involved in her life this way. She has always been shy & I do think the social aspects of texting work to her advantange.

The dd 16? She would probably text 24 hours a day if we let her. We have SmartLimits on her phone & she doesn't have access to texting during the school day, except for family and one close friend that she sometimes rides with to & from school. She also isn't allowed to text after 9:30 on school nights. Right now, during the school break, she is completely unrestricted. I checked our phone bill online and she has been really trying to reach that 24 hour mark! We caught her texting at the dinner table when we went to a nice restaurant last week - she is so good at it, she doesn't even have to be looking at her phone to type. I told her if she kept being sneaky, that I would get her an iPhone like mine. It is harder to be sneaky when you have to see the buttons you are pushing.

Thank goodness for unlimited texting plans!

 

[Kath2003]

I text a lot. My boyfriend and I work different hours (we don't live together any more) so I text him whilst he's still asleep in the mornings. He replies, I pick them up at break time (I'm a teacher, he has an office job) and reply. I pick up his replies at lunchtime, reply and then pick them up after school and reply again. Without texting, we wouldn't get to talk between 11pm and 6pm every day because we work such different schedules.

Same goes for my mum - she works in a school but with different timings so we text during our respective breaks. My sister's a midwife - again we just text and pick up messages when we can. I don't have the kind of job where I can pick up the phone and call someone whenever I feel like it so texting works.

Plus in the evening, generally I really cannot be bothered to talk to anyone.

 

[fairykin]

Texting is uliterian at times.

However for the most part..i think it's abused and nothing is worse than being out to a resturant and seeing a couple on a date with one of them texting the entire time. I think it can be disrespectful and exculsionary.