Missing Out by Being Filled In

Cute gal texts: "Have you ever heard of The Weepies?"
Cute dude texts back: "Oh yeah, I love them!  World Spins Madly On is one of my favorites."

...Not.

Using writing to communicate on a more personal level can be dangerous!

Along with the varied miscommunication mentioned in others' posts, writing gives us a pause between delivering our words and the audience receiving them.  This gap actually allows for us to fictitiously recreate ourselves.  I confess, numerous times I've been Facebook messaging or texting someone when they drop a name, place, or idea that I'm not familiar with. In that instant my pride and resources kick in; instead of asking "Oh, what's that?  I'm not familiar with it," I scour the Internet for quick and simplistic information so I can make an educated reply.

The general idea of this goes along with how one can use a certain tone or set of words to depict themselves differently in writing than they are in real life.  I haven't really thought about it until now, but that lack of being genuine with myself and others isn't something I'm a fan of.  Yeah, I look well-informed and part of what's going on, but I miss out on that interaction I would usually get in person, where I inevitably do have to ask what on this good Earth they're talking about.  I miss out on giving them the opportunity to willingly, and perhaps excitedly, share their knowledge with me on a personal level, potentially furthering discussion and debate and friendship.

Investment Texting 101

I hate texting. Granted, you probably don't mind because you have a pretty "qwerty" pad that pops up on your screen and a helpful auto correct; I have to hit the 7 button 4 times to type an "s". So texting is actually a particularly frustrating thing for me.

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.