I just don't get it (texting)

FAOL Community Sound Off
1

I gotta vent to someone so here’s as good a place as any. What in the world is the big deal with texting on phones???

I’ll make this as short as I can. My niece (12 yrs old) got a cell phone about 6 months ago. Now first off I fail to see where a little 12yr old girl needs to have a cell phone but she’s not my daughter so it’s not may place to say, anyway. Anytime my sisters family comes over anymore all my niece does is have her phone out texting. Out comes the phone and the thumbs are going 100mph. It’s no lie at all when I say not even a full 2 minutes goes by without her flipping her phone up and texting. They came over to the house today to do some Christmas stuff like bake cookies and such and in the 4 hrs they were here I honestly would guess she sent well over 200 text messages. And it’s about the lamest things as well. Crap like-

“what u doin?”
“nothin U?”
“nothin i’m bored”
“me 2”
“i’m gonna get a sandwich”
“K I already ate”
“K brb”

Stuff like the above is so important that you have to constantly have a life line connected via a phone to talk to someone about?? :confused:

It’s not just my young niece either. My 41yr old sister was even texting while she was here, and its the same lame type of conversations. Her friend texted her so I asked “what did she want”…my sisters reply…

"Nothing, shes at the laundromat"

Being at the laundromat is such breaking news you have to text someone to tell them your there?

I keep in touch with friends, but I usually will sit down and pick up the phone once a week and actually place a phone call to talk to them in person (imagine that!) We’ll talk for 10-15mins get caught up on whats new and that’s it. I don’t need to know they are bored, or what they had to eat for lunch, or that they just stubbed their toe or any other mundane thing.

Am I the only person on earth that just does not get this whole texting thing? maybe I’m getting old I dunno.

Steve

2

MCFR,

I don’t get it either. Freaks me out when I see folks driving on the freeway…texting. Cell phones are bad enough, but texting.

As far as keeping in contact with people, I think it’s an age related thing. The older we get, the less important the mundane becomes.

REE

3

MCFR,

I don’t understand the importance of “texting” either!! It is either “texting” or video games.

I understand your “rant” and what I see going on in this world with the “future” generation that will be running it, really scares me!

4

Hey guys… thanks for the tex message on texting, I don’t get it iether…lol

:wink: :wink: :wink:

Tim

Oh yeah, and I hope you guys have a really good day…;0

5

please do not throw anything at me but i cannot live without texting either… :frowning:
i text between 2000+ texts a month and my mom wants me to text more instead of using up our family plan minutes! :rolleyes: My family pays over $400/month on cell phone plans and texting is actually saving us money by not over using our minutes :stuck_out_tongue: $10 Unlimited text&picture messages…

Me & Mom Verizon family plan package + unlimited txt + fees&tax = $200
Sister Verizon Basic Blackberry plan with internet + unlimited txt + fees&tax= $150?
Dad T-moblie basic 800 minute plan + fees&tax = $80

If anyone know how to save money on phone plans, please do tell me and not owning a phone is NOT AN OPTION :smile:

6

lol sorry just had to add that post, I didn’t get texting for while iether, then I found as the post above that its ALOT cheaper as do most all of the younger generation knows. My mom bless her heart, din’t get it iether for along time, now she keeps her cell with her every where now that she knows she can here from her Kids, grandkids alot more cause you don’t have to worry about time and what some one is doining, if want to say something to someone, just send them a text, they will text back when they have free time, that way you can have a conversation at anytime…:slight_smile:

7

with the prices cell phone companys charge texting is becoming more and more popular. my girlfriend and i text each other all day. I use it as a ean to snd her loce omes. simple i love you’s and other littlecute lovie dovie things. but w have als used it to argue over as well allowing us space and a means to communicate without letting out tones cause even more stress in the agument. it also comes in handy when you need say something and well if yor like me can put it in words better then with your voice.

8

ditto!! and especially useful for people who have long distance relationships like me:(

9

why not just talk to your family and friends face to face?

that saves alot of money every month!

10

If you guys can’t live without texting, then you should re-think about the world around you. The phone companys have you right where they want you and you’re falling into the wireless trap of sucking money out of you. What would your bill be if you didn’t have texting?? Wanna save money?? call and be short about it…
If you’re spending that kind of cash on phones and texting,–wow. I can’t imagine that. What kind of money are you making to spend that on phones?? Lets be REAL honest here. You don’t NEED a phone to do this. You WANT a phone to do this. NEEDS and WANTS. Anyone that has been bringing up kids in this world understands exactly what I just said.

I use a small grocery store near me and found a young man texting while stocking shelves. Thought it was pretty stupid and then I sat back and watched him. He texted about once for every 3 cans stocked. Imagine how many cans he would stock if he had that phone turned off?
I went back two days later and saw him again. Doing the same thing. Decided to ask him a question on where the marachino cherries were. He said—“give me a minute” as he was answering a text. Talked with the manager. Seems that young man was told before about his excessive use of his cellphone. I know he was told to eithre keep his phone in the car or find another store to work in.

Steve and I talk about once every two weeks on the phone. We have a small luxury of spending a few cents to do this. We cut our selves short on conversations because we realize–time is money. If he’s talking to me, he isn’t producing and if he isn’t producing, he isn’t making money. Same goes for other employees while working. If you worked for me and you had the time to do that while working, we would have a short conversation. I can understand having short conversations dealing with family and friends while working but you need to keep that on a very low priority.
I bet most are now thinking—boy,glad he isn’t my boss. Then you think this is ok to do at work. What is it hurting. I have time…—til you’re in charge and you have to answer for low productivity.
OK so your not doing this til you’re off work. Fine. Now what, text while you’re driving instead??? I don’t think the hospitals need more patients right now----oh wait, their texting friends saying I got a guy lying here on the gurney bleeding–not much new–TTYL

Gotcha Steve—I’m with ya. and what the heck were you telling me you’re buying those spoiled rotten kids again???

11

Steve,
If you’re getting old then I am too. 'Course I AM getting old. I was taught that when you sit down to eat with someone, you visit with them. You don’t talk on the phone with someone else. Now texting is taking place of phones.
Sometimes, where I work, the boss buys us lunch. When that happens the right thing to do, according to my upbringing, is to visit with the boss and other folks around the table. However, there are a few folks that cruise the internet, text or even talk on the phone during those time. It drives me crazy, and I’ve often gotten into trouble with my comments. One of the fellows bought a brand new Lincoln Navigator SUV. He has dents in both the front bumper and the rear. I asked him if the dents got there as a result of texting while driving and he readily admitted “yes.”
No wonder the Post Office is struggling.
Pardon my rant, but that felt good.

12

Nice rant Randy! Does this mean you don’t want me to text you at the Fish-In when I catch a really big fish?:wink:

13

You don’t NEED a phone to do this. You WANT a phone to do this. NEEDS and WANTS.

…then sell off all your fly fishing stuff too…because you dont NEED it, you WANT it. NEEDS and WANTS.

There’s two sides to every coin, and for me, I much prefer texting to talking (on the phone). As has been said, you can read & respond at times that suit you, you have time to think about what you’re saying, and as some clearly dont see, it is FAR cheaper, which allows you to communicate things that may not necessarily warrant a phone call. My plan has like 100 minutes per month. Next to nothing. But unlimited texts. Its under $75/mo out the door.

The phone companys have you right where they want you and you’re falling into the wireless trap of sucking money out of you. What would your bill be if you didn’t have texting?? Wanna save money?? call and be short about it…

To the contrary, I feel that, compared to any other $75-$100 being spent on wireless, I’m getting more than my money’s worth. Without the text part of my plan, yeah, it’d be $10/month cheaper. But add in all the minutes I’d need to make short 1-5 minute calls as opposed to the texts, and my overages would more than triple my price. If I adjusted my plan to buy more minutes to account for it, I’d still be way over what I’m paying now.

As far as texting while driving, yes. It IS a bad idea. If you cant text without looking at your keypad, its WORSE than talking. However, text gives you a key advantage over calling while on the road: you can read & respond at your convenience. There’s no phone tag. Someone calls you while you’re driving, you either answer, and talk while driving, or you ignore it and miss a call (that might be urgent, you dont know till you listen to the message). Then you gotta call back to see what they wanted and hope they’re available when you are. With texts, youre driving, boom, text. You wait till you stop at a red light and pull it out and read the text. If its not important, ignore it till youre off the road. If it IS important, either respond while youre waiting, or find a place to pull over to make a proper response.

Texting is more convient for all involved as long as everyone is comfortable with the medium. I finally convinced my family it was in their best interests, and now we have better communicaiton through the day than we ever did before they started texting.

I’ll answer a text within 5-10 minutes, 85% of the time. I answer a phone call about 15% of the time. If I dont have the number in my list already, maybe 5%.

14

As far as I can tell, it’s an excuse to use extremely poor grammar and spelling, usually while driving in traffic…

15

I guess you could add texting to a long and ever growing list of things I don’t get. I don’t think I need to ‘get’ a lot of things. Lots of people don’t ‘get’ fly fishing. I do get a little concerned over the way texting has crept into times and places I’m pretty sure are inappropriate.
When my supervisor interupts a work related conversation to read/answer a text from his wife, it’s annoying. When I see someone texting while marshaling aircraft on a crowded ramp, it’s down right scary.( and yes, I did see that happen in '07 and I spoke up about at the time.)

16

Nope! Not by a long shot!!!

17

Here in Colorado the no-texting-while-driving law just went into effect. Woohoo! Of course, where I live and work, the phone pretty much doesn’t work, but hey…

I have yet to send a text message, and while my brother and his family can’t seem to live without doing so, I fail to see the need to communicate in short, nonword formats. They sent me one text, I called them up and told them they were idiots, and it stopped.

I have never even remotely come close to using up the minutes in my $40 a month cell phone plan, and the only reason I got the cell phone in the first place was so I could call the police when I needed to (drunk drivers and such), and keep in touch on road trips, but it does let me talk to family once a week or so. Which is really all the time we need to keep up with each other. And amazingly, I have not needed to replace the cell phone I got years ago when I signed up, even though undoubtedly the newest ones can play hiphop music instead of ringing, do my laundry, tie Atlantic Salmon flies flawlessly, and be used as a flashlight in an emergency. How can I live without that sort of thing?

Need versus want, once again.

18

I have some very strong opinions on this, surprise, surprise. Most of you children of technology would never have been able to survive in by gone eras. How interesting is it that as the technology enabling easier communication advances the ability to articulate, to communicate declines rapidly.

How many of the younger generation can write, in cursive, a genuine letter? Heck, how many of my generation can do it? Not many! A proper and well rounded vocabulary used to be required in our schools as did proper grammar. If you didn’t have those skills you were considered challenged when it came to your communication skills. You would be given remedial training, perhaps even tutored but you were only given so many chances to make the grade. We didn’t give hand outs but we helped everyone we could to succeed. When your mom and dad are children of the Greatest Generation you do not bring home an “F” on your report card. A “C+” is acceptable but better be brought up by the next grading period. The “Can Do” generation refused to hear that word “Can’t” because they know you “Can DO”. The text messaging only aggravates this lack of communication skills. In my opinion it reinforces the improper use of grammar and vocabulary. It also adds to a lack of being able to communicate for longer than two minutes about any given subject as well as severely hampering the courtesy of “listening” to what others have to say.

A thought about cell phones, DVD players, pda, laptops and etc being used in cars that are being driven on public highways and byways. That needs to be outlawed while the vehicle is in anything other than a safely parked condition. Period. No blue-tooth, hands-free, sync…blah…blah…if it’s moving or sitting in the traffic lanes and you as a driver are using or watching these devices you should be heavily fined. This should be treated as harshly or even more harshly than a D.U.I. to include jail time for accidents and homicide charges for causing accidents that kill. I realize that some localities do this but it needs to be nationwide and strictly enforced. You don’t have the right to endanger my life or impede my travel on public highways and byways.

Honestly I think this is yet another addiction that has reared it’s ugly head. It is potentially dangerous too. A statement was once made to me that if a certain person hadn’t had their cell phone to talk on they would not have been able to stay awake while driving to do their shopping. Wrong thing to say to an aviator! They were told flat out that they had no urgent need to be driving under those conditions, they should have pulled off of the highway to get some rest, they have no right to endanger the lives of others in such a manner and if I caught them doing it I would make a liberal application of kiwi boot polish to their rear end.

Done with my rant.

P.S. I have a cell phone and it is for emergency use only. I usually keep it shut off unless I am out in the wilderness so that they can track me down via it’s G.P.S. function should I become lost or incapacitated.

19

can we really blame the kids and teenagers for texting? its the parents that sould be blamed for being the enablers of ridiculous trend. are the kids and teenagers footing the phone bills? maybe they should start paying for the priviledge of cell phone ownership.

there was a story on my local news the other nite about some application that can be downloaded or installed on the kids phones that disable the texting and dialing function if the software detects its moving over 5 miles an hour.

another news articles showed 2 girls sitting side by side texting each other. why couldnt they turn their heads and talk to each other! they texted over 4000 times per month!

20

Methinks there is a profound sense of false economy in these “arguments”. (It has been referred to as “fuzzy math”.) I have paddled my canoe very successfully for over 70 years with nothing more than a land line (at approx. $50.00/mo. today). I suspect I can continue to paddle it just as successfully for at least another 100! (Please note; my cost/mo vs those posted above show a savings sufficient to pay for one day of a guided trip down the Madison, San Juan, Susquehanna, etc. Twelve such float trips a year sure has a lot of “sex” appeal to this old goat!!! Shucks, after a couple of years, might even be able to spring for an Alaskan trip.)