Texting, but not proud of it.

After months of discussion and reluctance, I finally stooped and gave Phil (and consequently me) texting for part of his Christmas present. It's actually more of a gift to our friends, since they text more than we do, so for those of you reading this, you're welcome.

I know that adding texting to our phone plan in December 2008 causes us to look frugal and/or old fashioned, but I do, in fact, have some very legitimate and logical beef with the whole text messaging craze, and it goes like this:

First, I completely understand that there is a time and place for texting. It's convenient, especially when you're in the middle of a meeting or something and literally cannot talk to someone but need to get them a message. It's also helpful when confirming plans with someone, which really doesn't require an entire conversation.

However, for the most part, I see people using texting as a substitute for actual conversation (see cartoon above). Conversations on the phone (and, heaven forbid, in person) just seem to require too much of a time and energy commitment these days--a detriment to communication and relationships everywhere. In my speech class, my students learn early in the semester that 93% of all communication is non-verbal, which means that when we text or email, we are really only receiving 7% of the message being sent; we miss the tone of voice, facial expressions, pauses, etc. that would be present in a face-to-face or at least phone conversation. This swings wide the door for potentially disastrous miscommunications and, in the long run, cheats people out of learning to communicate well. When people text instead of talk, they communicate incompletely, half-heartedly, and often distractedly. In my humble opinion, it is the lowest form of communication.

That being said, please understand that I am not a text-hater. Too many people, though, overuse texting, leaving actual phone or face-to-face conversations in the shadows when it should really be the other way around. So, for now, I have texting on my phone, and, while I'm glad that I'll be paying less per month (since I won't be paying for all the texts people send) and will occasionally enjoy the convenience of using it, I really do feel like I am stooping, like I have compromised my morals in some way. So, I still might call you back when you text me because I'd rather hear your voice that look at your words on a phone, but I'm going to give it a chance and at least give you all the gift of knowing you can text us for free.