The main problem with texting, in my opinion, is that the integral investment is taken out of both communication and relationship. As this Ace Ventura meme accurately depicts, Texting has eliminated the need for investment in the form of time (or patience) in a relationship. If you don't text me back within a matter of minutes, I will either think 1) You hate me, 2) You're cheating on me, or 3) You're dead (and if you're not dead, you will be when I see you next).
The technology is not the problem. The world is more connected than it ever has been. We can experience more things than any other generation could in seriously convincing ways. The problem is that we take it too far and we believe it too much.
I love that I can quickly send my dad a text to let him know I got an A or to receive a random message from my mom that she loves me. But when I go home to visit and see the people that I care so much about, it almost feels like I would have been better off staying in Provo! We go to parties and events only to spend the whole time texting those who couldn't make it. And we miss out on relationships because we weren't willing to invest a little time with people face-to-face instead of screen-to-screen.
I don't think that texting is bad, but there is a better method to communication than what we are doing with texts. I will always be a fan of oral communication, but, really, any communication with a little bit of investment will go (figuratively) much further than contemporary text messaging will ever go.
It's interesting how one of the biggest factors associated with writing is how we view time. We expect direct face-to-face, instant response when we speak to people directly, but the inability to reproduce that over text is a constant cause of frustration.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how one of the biggest factors associated with writing is how we view time. We expect direct face-to-face, instant response when we speak to people directly, but the inability to reproduce that over text is a constant cause of frustration.
ReplyDeleteI agree that you lose a lot of vital parts to a relationship when majority of that relationship is spent texting rather than face to face communication. It's a curs-ed blessing! it's nice to keep in touch with the ones you love so easily, but relationships that mean a lot to someone shouldn't ever be just that easy to maintain. Oral communication I believe is 100 percent necessary in order for any sort of relationship to progress and flourish.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that texting creates part of a relationship that didn't exist centuries ago. I do think that facet of the relationship can thrive with a little nourishing. Good texting is always good texting and bad texting is always bad texting.
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