Textually active
Issue date: 2/6/09 Section: Opinion
As college students, we are constantly connected to our phones. Every beep, ring and vibration from the phone alerts us to something essential, or even not so essential. Text messaging has also greatly influenced the way we communicate with others.
Today, texting has almost become an addiction, no doubt a potentially useful one. However, because texting is so easy, it can cause problems.
Sending texts sometimes replaces phone calls or in person conversation. However, even worse is that texting is sometimes used to avoid confrontation in person or over the phone.
Texting for important conversations is not the way to go. We think it's awful that people break up over texting - how have we managed to sink to that low? Texting is also a bad idea during fights and/or serious conversations. If you can't hear inflection and tone, things can come across totally differently than the person intended.
Texting also seems less honest in some ways than voice or face-to-face communication - you have time to think out what you want to say, you can't see reactions and it's easy to just stop texting when you just don't want to deal with the conversation.
We acknowledge that texting is often used responsibly. Texting is a convenient, quick and easy way to get a message to someone when a phone call is impractical. And since most people who have cell phones carry them everywhere, people are able receive text messages almost instantaneously, allowing them to respond quicker.
Texting can also be used to get important messages to people when a phone call cannot be used. The discreetness of texting has its uses too - people are more likely to read a text than answer a phone call, which can be useful to get ahold of a person immediately.
But with discreetnees also comes more problems. Professors today have to deal with texting during classes, and friends and family often have to deal with that person that is constantly texting, even when it's rude.
We agree that it is definitely distracting to have a conversation with someone who is texting back and forth with someone else.
Overall, we think texting is often a very handy and entertaining tool, but when used in excess or in the wrong situation it can cause more trouble than anything else.
Texting is just another form of communication, and when used responsibility, it can be great. But, please be careful before hitting the send button.
Today, texting has almost become an addiction, no doubt a potentially useful one. However, because texting is so easy, it can cause problems.
Sending texts sometimes replaces phone calls or in person conversation. However, even worse is that texting is sometimes used to avoid confrontation in person or over the phone.
Texting for important conversations is not the way to go. We think it's awful that people break up over texting - how have we managed to sink to that low? Texting is also a bad idea during fights and/or serious conversations. If you can't hear inflection and tone, things can come across totally differently than the person intended.
Texting also seems less honest in some ways than voice or face-to-face communication - you have time to think out what you want to say, you can't see reactions and it's easy to just stop texting when you just don't want to deal with the conversation.
We acknowledge that texting is often used responsibly. Texting is a convenient, quick and easy way to get a message to someone when a phone call is impractical. And since most people who have cell phones carry them everywhere, people are able receive text messages almost instantaneously, allowing them to respond quicker.
Texting can also be used to get important messages to people when a phone call cannot be used. The discreetness of texting has its uses too - people are more likely to read a text than answer a phone call, which can be useful to get ahold of a person immediately.
But with discreetnees also comes more problems. Professors today have to deal with texting during classes, and friends and family often have to deal with that person that is constantly texting, even when it's rude.
We agree that it is definitely distracting to have a conversation with someone who is texting back and forth with someone else.
Overall, we think texting is often a very handy and entertaining tool, but when used in excess or in the wrong situation it can cause more trouble than anything else.
Texting is just another form of communication, and when used responsibility, it can be great. But, please be careful before hitting the send button.
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