Texting is a great mode of communication in just a handful of situations; for example, if you are in the Emergency Department at your local hospital and can’t make a phone call to tell your family why you are there (because the Department has blocked cell phone usage) – you can text them. Another appropriate time to text is if you are hiding in a closet from fear of what is on the other side of the door; texting for help is the thing to do! Ok, so texting is good for only two situations – and both of them involve emergencies. That’s pretty much it. For all the other scenarios in life, if you can’t call the individual and talk to her in person, then your “message” is not that important and should just wait.
I hate texting for a million reasons, but here’s 7 – in no particular order.
1. It’s a waste of time.
Friendly, flirtatious texting back and forth, back and forth, back and forth is a waste of time. Ask anyone who has ever done it with a new love interest and see if they are actually (still) with that person now or if they ever got to know that person, in person. Chances are the answers are no. I can think of countless other things to be doing instead of sending silly, ridiculous, meaningless phrases back and forth to someone over any period of time beyond a minute. If you look back over all the texts you sent to your co-worker or the soon-to-be-divorced girl across the street in the past month, you’re probably cringing – thinking, in hindsight, how silly it was to do that.
2. It’s expensive.
How many of you had to opt for the “unlimited texting” program for your phone because once you got the hang of texting, you grossly exceeded your limit? After you picked your jaw up off the floor from the sticker shock of your first cellular phone bill, you decided to change it over to the more expensive (and supposedly limitless) texting option. But it’s not limitless. It’s not freeing. It’s a ball and chain that strangles you and holds you back from really living. Every time you hear that sound that you have a text, you are immediately distracted from life. Then, like a video game you can’t put down, you have to be the last one to get the most clever word in. And so it goes, on and on. Because you now opted for the “unlimited texting” program, you are actually texting more than ever.
3. It’s rude.
If you have ever engaged in a friendly texting dance with someone while in the company of another, you’ve probably also cheated during your past relationships and never respected or took the relationships seriously. Why should you? In your mind, there’s always someone else around the corner to text. That might be true; however, at some point you’ll be incapable of texting – and then who will be there, physically, sitting at your side? If you are watching a TV show with your loved one and simultaneously texting with another, that’s just plain wrong! If the girl you are physically with is smart enough, confident enough, and strong enough – she’ll ask you to leave; then you’ll have all the time in your world – alone – to waste on texting nonsense to some stranger. Texting (or talking on the phone – but that’s another blog) while in the company of others is rude. It’s selfish. It’s inconsiderate. It makes you look like an ass and makes the other person wonder why she is wasting her time sharing her time with you – when she could be rubbing her dog’s belly, reading a book, or counting the stars in the evening’s sky.
4. It’s dangerous.
In addition to losing the respect, interest, and affection of a good friend if you text while being in the physical company of her, texting is dangerous while driving. Everyone knows that and yet many people still do it. Why is that? Is what you are about to read or text so important that it can’t wait until you get to your destination?
5. It’s bad for your writing and interpersonal skills.
Texting is not only a terrible slaughter of the English language, punctuation, and vocabulary, but also a deterrent for your verbal, interpersonal, and eye contact skills. If what you are texting you would never in a million years actually say to the person, then don’t text it. I envision a party filled with people who are all looking down texting each other instead of embracing the opportunity to connect in an authentic way. LOL (!) How funny is dat! Is that you I see in the corner texting at that party?
6. It breaks up relationships.
Casual flirtation is easy to participate in via texting. Being able to interrupt and slither in to a person’s quiet night at home with a loved one with a simple, “Hey Wassup” text can set a ball of destruction rolling down a hill with no end in sight. If someone should text you while you are enjoying the evening with your wife, your girlfriend, a new friend, or an old friend – don’t respond to the text. If you make the commitment to spend the afternoon or evening with someone, don’t let that third party tag along via texts. If you do, you are clearly telling the person you are with that you are more interested in the other person at the other end of the text. And, though you are probably not (and probably wouldn’t really want to spend the rest of your life with that person), you are wasting your time, your attention, and the love of the person who is right there with you – physically.
7. It’s stupid.
Watch others text. How dumb do they look? There could be a brilliant sunset splashed across the evening sky, a spider crawling across the table, or someone drowning (not waving) right in front of you and you are too busy looking down at the meaningless text coming in to your world. Think of some of the smartest people you know. Do you see them texting mindlessly and endlessly? Stop being mediocre. Stop settling. Stop following the crowd. Look up. Look around. Look right in front of you. Life is all around you – not inside a little plastic box.
If you find that you have such an addictive personality and that you must text – then do it when you are alone and no one can see you and do it when you are not driving. No one wants to stand next to you, sit in front of you, or be next to you in bed while you are texting someone else. Turn you phone off at night. Stop letting others who are bored and can think of nothing else to do pierce their way into your world. It’s hard to stop that bleeding once it starts. And, it’s very likely, there will no longer be anyone authentic standing, sitting, or relaxing next to you to help you.
Got something to say? Don’t text me, email me: writers with spark @ g mail dot com
