Well, it’s finally happened. After more than four years of merely talking on the same old cell phone, I have finally obtained a new one, and after all this time, I now have texting enabled. After so many years of people repeatedly trying to send me texts and refusing to remember that I could not receive text messages, I can now enter a bigger world.
It’s unfortunate to say, but I believe it to be true: not having texting all this time probably stunted my socializing capabilities. Since everyone texts nowadays, those who can text back and forth are more likely to become closer. If someone cannot text, then she will grow more and more distant from others since she is physically unable to participate in the bonding process.
Don’t get me wrong, I have tried to let people know my conundrum, to inform them politely that I cannot text or receive texts from others. But far too often, in a world where everyone and their mother texts up a storm at all times, it is really easy to forget that one person amidst all those masses of texters is denied that ability, and so people would send me texts anyway. Then, when I didn’t respond, they either got offended or lost interest in my friendship and moved on—which I acknowledge doesn’t make them all that great of friends in the first place, but I’d rather they decided to let me go as a friend for more tangible reasons, like stealing their girlfriend or totaling their car or something.
Even worse was the period for the last few weeks when I didn’t have any cell phone (after over four years, it finally broke) and so, besides talking to me in person, the only ways to get in touch with me were e-mail, Facebook and my dorm room phone. Now that was hell. It was hard enough to let people know that my phone number had changed, but to give them a number that I might not always be present to answer? With no means of letting me know I missed a call? I mean, a lot of people don’t even leave messages! They just keep calling back or give up. It was very difficult to get in touch with anybody. I felt like I was in the Stone Age.
I just kept thinking that before the advent of cell phones, it couldn’t possibly have been this hard for people. And I don’t believe it was, for the simple reason that because there were no cell phones, people were willing to work together and coordinate. They would talk on the phone—or write letters—beforehand, and agree to meet at such-and-such a time. In my recent predicament, on the other hand, no one was willing to work with me, which made it impossible for me to do anything with other people. It’s a bit of a shame, really, but there you go.
I do fear, to an extent, that I will become the very thing I hate: one of those people who is constantly hunched over his phone, blasting away at the keyboard, even texting during conversations with real, physical persons occupying the same space. But having been on the receiving side of that for so long, I’m hoping I can catch myself and avoid it. Heck, it’s possible I hated those people only because, deep down, I was jealous I couldn’t do it myself.
Trey Treviño is a sophomore CTV major. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].
