Text messaging
Class is getting a little boring. You’re counting down the minutes until the bell rings. Oh right, we don’t have bells. Well, you’re just waiting till the clock strikes 10-till. Unless you’re in the journalism department (and are at a lack of a computer in front of you), you probably have nothing to do. Your teacher is endlessly talking about something concerning the skulls of ancient molecules that read Shakespeare. You’re obviously not really paying attention.
Instead, you’ve spent the hour text messaging your friends who sit in similar situations.
“Yo what r u doing?” you write. Your phone vibrates a minute later: “Nothing bored what r u doing 2night?” The back and forth conversation passes the 50- or worse 80-minute class quickly.
I’m a huge fan of text messaging (but never do it in class if any of my teachers are reading this). My best friend and I often hold lengthy conversations, ranging from the night’s plans to our increasing anxiety of the approaching graduation. But when does text messaging become out of control? What about people who just can’t seem to get into text messaging? Are they simply incompetent to speed typing?
The increase of text messengers seems to have skyrocketed in the past three years. The first cell phone I had didn’t even have text messaging available. And no, it was not some huge phone a la Zack Morris.
Text messaging has gotten so popular cell phone companies often have packages with mass amounts of text messaging available. Verizon offers up to 500 text messages a month.
Some people can’t handle text messaging; I’ll text message someone and 10 seconds later he or she calls exclaiming, “Sorry, I don’t do text messaging.” Oh really, you don’t do that? It’s not like drugs. It’s just a little workout for your fingers.
My best friend has recently gotten into the text-messaging phenomenon. She used to be one of those “don’t do it” people, but I think I’ve broken her in. It only takes her 20 minutes to respond to something, but I’m so proud of her for trying.
Emily Jumet, a pre-med and political science double major considers herself a “moderate texter.”
“I’m not a pheene,” the sophomore said. “But if I don’t have enough to say in a conversation it’s so much easier to just text someone.” When a conversation seems to get a tad lengthy, Jumet will be quick to pick up the phone and call rather then typing paragraphs of text. “That’s when it becomes time constrictive,” she said.
Text messaging is great when dealing with people who you don’t want to talk to. Typing a quick “are you going to barley house tonight?” is to the point, and the one typing avoids all means of wasting cell phone minutes with a simple question. You are certainly able to avoid all means of pointless and awkward conversation.
Texting obviously plays a huge role in relationships qualified on we-only-text-message-each-other. Sometimes it starts with an inside joke, perhaps a quote from a movie and you continue trying to beat each other’s jokes. My sisters and I text random references and often just one word to each other, some of which are inappropriate for print.
Ashley Jorgenson is also a frequent text messenger, priding herself on her quick finger movements. “Test messaging can get a little out of control,” the junior print journalism major said. “There comes appoint where you just want someone to pick up the phone and call you.” When messaging back and forth become so time consuming, it doesn’t seem like the most appropriate means of conversation.
Cassie King, a junior print journalism major, text messages everyone. “It’s a quick and easy way to communicate,” she said. “Plus, when you call people, they can always screen your calls. With text messaging, they have no choice but the read your message.” True that. “Pressing ignore on someone’s call is easy to do. But when your phone makes the tone of “New Message” you have no idea who sent it to you, therefore making you read it. Of course, no one said anything about responding.
Just be cautious when your superior texting skills get so out of hand you phonetically write everything, leaving the respondent at a loss of words. “goin 2 nox w/rents call u latr” pretty much makes no sense. I don’t know if it’s the lazy bone getting the best of you or that’s how you always spell, but that sentence has little red and green zigzags all over it.
The texting phenomenon seems to be growing with participation every day. You can finally have a way to say, “Don’t ever talk to me again” without saying it at all.
