The Texting Addiction
March 3rd, 2009 | Categories: Technology | 9 CommentsI have never really been a fan of texting. I didn’t have a texting plan for the longest time1 because I just don’t like sending text messages. I would much rather pick up the phone and give someone a call instead. Yes, there are some situations where texting is more practical than calling, but that doesn’t tend to happen very often. More often than not, texting is used as a way to communicate with someone while talking with someone else face-to-face at the same time, and that’s incredibly rude.
You do not need to respond to a text immediately after receiving it, particularly if you are in the middle of a face-to-face conversation with someone else. Nor do you need to have your phone sitting on the dinner table next to your plate, so that the second you get a text message, you notice your phone going off and rush to reply to the text. And you especially do not need to pull out your phone when in the middle of talking to someone, ignore the rest of what they are saying as you text someone, and then have the gall to ask, “Huh?” after you send the text message. It doesn’t matter if those around you are used to you doing this and brush it off, it’s still incredibly rude.
It’s excusable to drop everything to answer a text if it’s an emergency, but more often than not texts consist of mindless bits of conversation that really do not make any impact in your day to day life whatsoever. If your friend just had a fight with a best friend and sought you as an outlet to rant and explain the situation, is it acceptable to ignore her for a few minutes while you answer a text message about hearing a particular song on the radio? If you’re making plans with a friend and ask them a question about said plans, is it okay to wait while they pull out their phone, send a text, put the phone away, and then ask you to repeat everything you said in the last five minutes because they were obviously not paying attention? No, I think not.
What irritates me the most about those that text 24/7 is that it’s not necessary. If there is something that is particularly urgent, then give someone a call instead of a text. Or even if you get an important text that you absolutely must answer in the next five seconds, politely excusing yourself from the conversation would do wonders more than holding up the phone in the middle of a conversation, cutting off the person who you’re talking to. Because seriously, the moment when answering a text from a friend saying that they just saw a squirrel cross the street is more important than replying to your best friend who is talking to you face to face about a serious issue, certain priorities should be re-arranged, because it’s just not right.
- I did end up getting a small one though, because even if I don’t send texts, I still get charged for the texts I receive. [↩]
Subscribe Feed (RSS)
Hi, I'm Manda. I'm a college student studying communications and languages. I like to read, shop, bake, and travel. I have a tendency to listen to my favorite songs on repeat for hours on end. Sometimes I catch myself thinking in a language other than English. 
The only person I text is my boyfriend, when either of us has headed outside. It is the only option because international calls to mobile phones are still very expensive. And I have to explain that texting is extremely popular in the UK for pretty much the same reason – money. Calling is very, very expensive and so for people who has a larger circle of friends/acquaintances it may not be feasible.
I do agree with you though – I’d be irritated if someone keeps texting when they are talking to me. And texts are very limited that you either don’t say much or you text speak, it’s often the former for me because I hate the latter with a passion. I think it is the reason why a lot of English speaker cannot spell.
Melody’s last blog post: Because my inside is outside
I completely agree ith you. I never really understood what the big deal is about texting. The only time I ever send texts is when I’m not home and the person is not answering my calls, so I send them a text if what I need to tell them is very important. And that hardly ever happens. Me and my friends aren’t really big texters, so I don’t receive any and I don’t any sort of plan. Texting is really big over here in Canada, but I just never really got into it.
Before I lived together with my boyfriend we texted us nearly daily. He was at work and I was at school so calling wasn’t possible. Since we moved together I pretty much stopped texting, I have no idea when I sent the last one. Right now I rather call people if I have their number but I don’t use my phone really much. It’s just there that my parents can contact me when they don’t reach me at home. I don’t have much other numbers and literally nobody to text with. The big texting times are definitely gone for me. :)
Jessica’s last blog post: It’s getting Spring
*APPLAUDS*
I completely agree x infinity. Now if only the mindless masses could see the truth behind what you’re saying. I’ve only ever sent one text message in my entire life, and it took me half an hour to figure out how to do it. XD I just don’t have a use of it at all. But beside the point! I cannot stand people who are attached at the hip with their phone. One of my really good friends is completely obsessed with hers. You can be in the middle of a conversation about something serious, watching a movie, DRIVING!, and she’ll be texting. It drives me bananas. I think it’s incredibly rude. Like you said, what can possibly be so important that you have to stop in the middle of something significant just to check your phone? If something is really that life-threatening, that’s what actual phone calls are for. My closest friends know how much I hate that, so I kind of devised a ‘secret ring’ for when things are ZOMGENDOFTHEWORLD important because otherwise, if I’m in the middle of doing something, I won’t answer my phone. If they call me 3 times in a row letting it ring only once, I know they really need something.
Anyhow, I’ve babbled endlessly on your comments page… *shuts up*
Krissy’s last blog post: We(Heart)It
I manage to live just fine without a cell phone/text messaging. It is incredibly rude when people read/reply to a text in the middle of a face-to-face conversation — I’d just walk away from a situation like that, to be honest.
If I walked away from a situation where someone read/replied to a text in the middle of talking to me face-to-face, I’d end up walking away from conversations more than participating in them. Sad, but true. Maybe I just need to find new friends :P
I only text excessively when I’m on a bus or train because I don’t want to be one of those people who loudly talks on the phone on the bus/train. And it’s not like I’m glued to my phone all the time… it’s just that when I text, it becomes sort of like an AIM conversation so I send/receive lots of text within a short period of time. Other than that, I don’t stare at it for the rest of the day waiting for someone to acknowledge my existence. Haha
HOWEVER, as much as I excessively text, I do have the decency not to text when talking to other people because I find that incredibly rude. I also find it incredibly rude when people have extended conversations on the phone with others when they’re supposed to be talking to you. If you started talking to someone else while someone is talking to you (mid-sentence), it’s rude. Why do people think that this rather basic rule doesn’t apply to texting/talking on the phone?
I am guilty of texting excessively. For me, it’s much better to text than actually call someone because I’m on a family plan with my sister and we have unlimited texting. I usually text my niece, nephew, and a few cousins of mine because we all have different schedules and it’s the only way to actually communicate with each other. My cousins and I do talk on the phone sometimes but more times than not, it’s texting.
Andie’s last blog post: boys…
[...] call is the next best thing if you can’t see someone in person for a face-to-face conversation. And even though I’m not a fan of texting, if there’s a special circumstance with a particular individual, I’ll break all of my texting [...]