Teens and texting....

I am 38 and text probably about 20 times a month. I find it convenient when arranging logistics for meeting somewhere, or sending a quick message to let the other person know I'm running a few minutes late.

What is confusing for people my age, is that I have friends/family who are older and don't text, rarely email, and still rely on phone calls & voice mail, which I hate but I understand that is how they communicate, even though sometimes I wish I could call them back and say couldn't you just text me that instead? Then I have friends, nieces, nephews who are younger and I can barely understand some of the code in their texts and emails. To them I want to say, couldn't you text me that in English instead?

Guess there is a big generational divide in how we communicate...
 
i was SO anti text for quite some time...but then it grew on me. now, i use it for business (lots of part time emplyees...some HS and college kids who ALL text), personal, etc....it's just more convenient than talking sometimes and most importantly, i can SAVE my sent texts which automatically show a 'message read' receipt for important business stuff...i send them to guys on jobs with last minute info, employees hour changes, etc. PLUS, i get a text every time someone submits a quote request on one of our sites OR places an order within 24 hrs of expected delivery

I find it very convenient now and might need to switch to unlimited...im currently going over my 400 txt limit once every 3 or 4 months (usually when business is booming!)
 
Recently my older son got a new phone that actually has a keyboard. Before that he was texting (sending and receiving) about 2000 a month. I just looked at the bill for last month. It was 192 pages long! And, he had over 8000 texts (good thing we have unlimited).... My daughter had over 2000 texts and my youngest son who is actually the one who uses the most data and is more computer oriented had about 200. Go figure. (DH and I had about 20 each).
 
I guess that at age 62, I am older than Methuselah to today's kids, but... if I have a choice between

(1) texting, and having to pay EXTRA $$$ to send and receive text messages, or
(2) just calling them (or e-mailing them) and not having to pay extra

then which do you think I would choose? :uglystupid:

I think texting is designed for people at work or at school, who do not want to get heard making personal phone calls. I am retired and past that now.

Besides, nobody I would care to get a call from knows how to text in the first place. My cell phone is not even text-enabled. I have a $30 Verizon plan and it would cost more than that if I did a lot of texting.
 
Could it be that boomers don’t like texting just because it involves younger people, words and acronyms not easily deciphered and dexterity that favors the young?

Texting allows for multiple concurrent communication streams and can be done where phone calls can not. It allows users to communicate using the cell without bothering those around them. It interacts with other communication tools, such as email and im. It allows the initiator to engage in more spontaneous messaging.

More people texting is preferable to more cell public phone calls. Exception – driving.
 
Last year DW and I started getting text messages in the way of ads. I figured we were paying for them so I had cell provider disable this feature. Not long ago our granddaughter told DW, "Grandma, I texted you but it won't let me" or something to that effect. She didn't understand us not wanting to text. Recently, I noticed kids in stores with their moms, walking around aimlessly, heads down in their Blackberry's or cell phones just texting away. I'm thinking, how stupid is that? Probable no more stupid than some of the things I did as a kid. Guess I'll have to get with it! Think they call it "GEEZERHOOD".
 
You guys make me feel so young.

I'm in my mid 30's and I probably send 50+ texts a day. Lots of friends and family members know I don't like personal phone calls at work. My wife is also not able to have a phone conversation that is less than 10 minutes, so texts are perfect.
 
I started texting (SMSing here in Europe) in 2000 because it was much cheaper to text in Europe than make a phone call. I went back to the states in 2005 and texting was still in its infancy - obviously it has taken off.

I have moved back to Europe and still text, but rarely - I work at home and have a 'landline' so use that more than my cell phone - I have two - one for Germany (a SIM card pay as you go) and one for the US (another pay as you go - no SIM card). They are used for emergencies only - and for texting my husband to make him aware of my plane landing and that I'm OK (same with him) - we exchange the US phone between us as many times we aren't traveling together.

My 'landline' here at home has the ability to receive SMS messages (I haven't figured out how to send out a message). So, the capability is there, just not utilized in the US by certain carriers.

We rely now on email and regular phone calls for communication - I don't do Facebook (even though I've been invited many times) - my husband does as he has children. It's interesting, they don't answer their email - sometimes they don't anser their phones, they do text and they do look at Facebook.

Last comment -I consider the epitome of rudeness to be texting, checking email or web-surfing when you are in a face-to-face meeting. As for people who say they work better when multi-tasking, I've found that that is not the norm - and that when one focuses on the meeting or agenda, the task is finished much more quickly. Also, if you've gone to the trouble to set up the meeting and agree upon the time, then you should allocate that time as you've agreed - otherwise, don't agree on the meeting. Also, I've found that meetings take up the time alloted to them, so the shorter you make them, the more focused they become. It also minimezes the time wasting aspect.

Last, last item - Isaac Asimov wrote a book about the virtualization of society - it was one of the Daneel Olivaw (sp?) detective books with a robot detective sidekick. I find many of the things Asimov posited int hat book are slowly coming true - it's sad as we are social creatures.
 
I text with my kids during the day, and with my squeeze, also because they cannot take time to talk during the work day. I do want to talk also when I can, because IMO texting misses the all impoirtant non verbal voice and tone cues from a spoken conversation.

I text with my sister who has some kind of social avoidance issues and she will communicate via text but rarely will she answer her phone or return voice calls. She also learned from interfacing with her kids via text. Some time she will feel better and call, but in the meantime I avoid frustration by texting if something needs to be said.

I also have a few people with whom I have to communicate but I don't want them to get a chance to go passo-aggro on me, so texting is the preferred medium.

My brother feels that texting is a plot to destroy the English language, and hence an immoral activity.

Ha
 
saluki9 said:
You guys make me feel so young.

I'm in my mid 30's and I probably send 50+ texts a day. Lots of friends and family members know I don't like personal phone calls at work. My wife is also not able to have a phone conversation that is less than 10 minutes, so texts are perfect.
Click to expand...

Me, too. I'm almost 40 and I prefer texting to all other forms of contact. :) :D I love my blackberry with the keyboard.
 
It is interesting that my kids rarely use email. They have email but don't hang on it like I do. One of the people I work with (age 30) texts a lot. I did ask him why do that rather than call. He feels that calling is more intrusive and is also more time consuming. A text someone can read when they have a chance and it doesn't interrupt them if they are in a meeting, etc. It is more immediate and more conversational than, say, an email.
 
Still not texting or even emailing much. I send perhaps 5 text messages per months and less than 20 personal emails per year. It's not that I don't have friends and family to keep in touch with, it's just that I'd rather talk than type when possible. So I like to pick up the phone and call people.:) Maybe they find me annoying...:D
 
haha said:
My brother feels that texting is a plot to destroy the English language, and hence an immoral activity.

Ha
Click to expand...

I text with a few people, only average 5 - 10 per day. However, I always use full words, proper spelling, and correct grammar (to the best of my ability). Just my little protest.

Personally, we've gotten into video Skyping recently every few days as a better way to visit with DD and DGD. It's pretty nice, better than a phone call for making you feel closer to that person. And it's free. :D
 
Age 52 here and never send text messages. I can barely type with two fingers so two thumbs just isn't happening.
 
FIREdreamer said:
1 in 3 teens sends 100+ text messages per day and 1 in 2 teens sends 50+ text messages per day!
Holy Toledo! What happened to... talking? Is it too 20th century?
Click to expand...
Having watched our teen try to coordinate with 4-5 friends for an after-school meeting, I can only imagine the ringing phones, voicemail retrieval delays, and and other chaos that would ensue if they tried to place voice calls.

Texts never go to voice mail. Your textee has time to think before reacting to them. You can carry on a "conversation" with several people before arriving at a consensus.

They're also frequently at a place where they can't let their phones ring/vibrate or where they can't talk out loud. By the time they're out of school (or largely out of parental hearing) the habit has been set.

I don't carry a cell phone, but I'll send a text/e-mail to our kid through our e-mail SMS gateway when she's out with friends yet there's an issue that needs her attention before returning home. Leaving a voicemail just doesn't cut it when you can leave a detailed text.
 
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