Texting

[Robert]

How much time do spend texting? How many messages per day?

Is it a right to be able to send text messages from anywhere? From work?

I send maybe 2-3 a day at the most. Probably less.

Our kids? Hundreds a day sometimes. I honestly don't understand the need. Probably means I'm TOO OLD! :thwap :D

They finally introduced a "distracted driving" law here in Alberta. Not sure how much it is enforced though. I still see many people driving around with their heads looking down most of the time... pretty easy to guess what they are doing.

[sunvalleylaw]

I am not a big texting fan. It annoys me really. Anything that requires more than delivering a quick message would be better done by voice communication. I guess it can be convenient for a quick message only.

Also, If I receive a text. I view it as an invitation to communicate when I get around to it, not an immediate obligation.


But then again, I am older than you! :D


I still see many people driving around with their heads looking down most of the time... pretty easy to guess what they are doing.

Checking in on the forum via tapatalk?! :socool

[guitartango]

How much time do spend texting? How many messages per day?

Is it a right to be able to send text messages from anywhere? From work?

I send maybe 2-3 a day at the most. Probably less.

Our kids? Hundreds a day sometimes. I honestly don't understand the need. Probably means I'm TOO OLD! :thwap :D

They finally introduced a "distracted driving" law here in Alberta. Not sure how much it is enforced though. I still see many people driving around with their heads looking down most of the time... pretty easy to guess what they are doing.

Using a mobile phone in the UK whilst driving can occur a £60 fine and points. I don't understand the need to txt someone every few minutes, must be getting old myself.

[omegadot]

We've had the laws in new York forever. I text maybe 20 times a week myself. I'm 26 so I grew up Without the tech mostly so maybe I never got that habit.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

[Spudman]

I do no texting. I do keep my eyes open for drivers that are doing it (that's crazy) so that I don't become a fatality. My thinking is that if you want to tell me something, call me. It worked in the past, plus I can tell from your tone of voice where you are really coming from. It's hard to do that with text. I also don't want to pay extra every month for the liberty of having that option on a phone that I hardly use.

[mapka]

nothing more annoying and dangerous then being behind someone going 10 mph or on and off the brakes constantly and when you get a chance to pass them to get out of dangers way you see them with a phone glued to their ear. I know that there have been studies done that show human interaction is changing (and not for the better) because of texting.

[riverrick]

No cell phone.....no texting!!! My wife on the other hand, the minute we get in the car to go somewhere she's on that damn cell phone thumbs going 100 mph. I HATE IT!!! I think there's way too much technology these days. I'm just sayin'.

[Tig]

I am not a big texting fan. It annoys me really. Anything that requires more than delivering a quick message would be better done by voice communication. I guess it can be convenient for a quick message only.

^ This makes sense.

We have no texting plan on our phones. I only have a basic phone used to talk with my wife or be available for emergencies.

Texting for kids and young adults is more a fad than anything. Typed messages, especially abbreviated ones, lose meaning since they are so simple, leaving room for misunderstandings and communication failure. What a waste to take such advanced technology and use it as an ancient teletype system.

[Katastrophe]

^ Tig makes sense, too.

The only time I text is when I'm in a place where I have to be quiet and can't talk on the phone. I send maybe 4 or 5 texts per week. I'm not a big fan.

I'd much rather talk. Back when Nextel was around, we had the Direct Connect program, and that was really nice to have.

[deeaa]

Uuh, I dunno...I hardly ever text. When I do it's usually something like 'picked up kids?' to my wife, or something like that, often just 'k' for okay. I may go weeks without a single sms message either direction.

I do however read & reply my email quite a lot on my phone.

I hate talking on the phone as well, it's very hard for me to concentrate on talking on the telephone unless I do something else simultaneously. If I have nothing to do while I'm on the phone my mind wanders, and suddenly I realize I'm gazing out the window and haven't listened to the other person on the line for the last 20 seconds already. For that reason, when a phone rings I automatically start doing something else, usually walk around the house quite fast, it helps me to concentrate on the audio only input. I like to talk on the phone when I'm driving for the same reason. If I don't talk with someone while I'm driving, it's very hard to keep alert to things on the road, so when I'm driving alone I always talk on the phone a little, sing to music, practice scales, anything, so my mind doesn't wander.

This inability to sustain attention to anything arriving via a single media or sensory channel was always very hard for me at school & university. I can listen to a lecture for 15 minutes and then it's just pfft, I end up in a dreamworld completely.

I just simply need both auditory and visual input, not just one, or do something kinetic simultaneously. It simply makes me concentrate better on both tasks to do them simultaneously, although it may sound strange.

It's often driven my wife crazy...you know, it is especially important I divide my attention when I'm thinking of something very important. So when my wife comes to me obviously shaken, saying like 'I lost my job today' the first thing I do is jump up and start organizing dishes into the cabinet, or anything at hand, because if I don't do something, I just stare blankly and my mind is going like 'oh shit oh shit' and I get nothing said or done. But soon as I start doing something I can again think straight and process the information and start talking. But to anyone who doesn't know me, of course, it usually looks like I don't give a shit or got mad, or whatever, but NOT the response they wanted anyway. But it's indeed the more anxious and the more worried I feel, the stronger the urge to do something. If it's like some mundane thing like 'buhaa, I broke a nail' I'll just hug her and say 'aww, too bad...' or whatever...but when the issue is more important, I just MUST burst into action.

I'm pretty sure that if I took a long driving test twice, once just driving, and once also chatting with someone on the phone, I'd do better when chatting.

[guitartango]

Dee,

Trouble with me is that I get bored with talking on the phone and start thinking about scales and chords, once i replied to someone and said E minor, the caller said Pardon E Minor ? I had to say sorry i was thinking of something other than car insurance, :D

[markb]

I'm such an inept texter that it's usually quicker just to call. I find it handy if I get a busy tone when calling though.

[Glacies]

Usually 2-3 a day for me, if that.

If I'm watching baseball against a friend's team and I'm in a spritely mood, I text about notable plays and bust chops.

[piebaldpython]

I rarely text anyone but my wife and daughter. My girls text way more. As my 25 yr old daughter explains it...."texting is a necessary evil because it allows you to give/receive info without having to go through the superfluous beginning/ending parts of a conversation....which in this day and age means time IS money. Get to the point and get going". She uses it in work, for work and school. It also allows for communication where a phone call is not possible/advisable.

She admits that many her age are ridiculous about texting.

[Tig]

The trend of declining human to human contact, even voice, has become alarming. Texting and Twitter are being used to break up with someone! Are we replacing basic responsibility with technology?

I understand in some situations it is more efficient to text, but when texting becomes the primary communication tool, our ability to work with and socialize with others is threatened. Ever watch a couple in a restaurant with kids, facebooking and texting on their phones, not talking, and ignoring the behavior of their kids?

[NWBasser]

The trend of declining human to human contact, even voice, has become alarming. Texting and Twitter are being used to break up with someone! Are we replacing basic responsibility with technology?

I understand in some situations it is more efficient to text, but when texting becomes the primary communication tool, our ability to work with and socialize with others is threatened. Ever watch a couple in a restaurant with kids, facebooking and texting on their phones, not talking, and ignoring the behavior of their kids?

:applause:happy

That's it! I couldn't agree more.

It really pisses me off when I'm visiting with someone and all they do is spend the time texting someone else.

[sunvalleylaw]

+1. While I am sure PBP's daughter is doing her best in her world, the fact that text communication for even those tasks bothers me. It makes it to easy to just send a text and say that you have fulfilled your responsibility and that the ball is in the other guy's court now. Also, the niceties she says texting avoids are what help us to view each other as human beings with lives, and therefore treat each other with more respect. The niceties are actually important in my opinion.

PBP, please do not take the above as a criticism of your daughter. I am sure she is just doing what she feels or is told is expected of her. I am just criticizing the trend in human communication.

[Tig]

PBP, please do not take the above as a criticism of your daughter. I am sure she is just doing what she feels or is told is expected of her. I am just criticizing the trend in human communication.

Me, too. PBP's daughter sounds like she has a good head on her shoulders.
My old man rant is focused on the social trend.

Now get off my lawn! :socool

[piebaldpython]

PBP, please do not take the above as a criticism of your daughter. I am sure she is just doing what she feels or is told is expected of her. I am just criticizing the trend in human communication.

SVL....no offense taken. How to explain why texting is superior in some instances. It allows for immediate feedback/communication without people around you having to hear your voice and conversation. So, if she's on public transportation.....or in a line at a store or shopping it allows for brief communication where a phone call would just be too intrusive/annoying to those around her. So, a courtesy to others, if you will.

I am not a big fan of texting.....but I much prefer that others around me text instead of me having to hear their drawn-out dumb-a** conversations at loud volumes. lol

Baby Cobra goes to the same college I did, Temple U in Philly. When I registered for classes, they had folding tables set up throughout the basketball gym (McGonigle Hall) with signs on the tables pertaining to what schools/majors and you went from table to table, stood in line to register for classes. By contrast, her registration starts at midnite.....online....and by 12:10 she's done. The comparison blows my mind.

Conclusion....texting isn't perfect by any means......but in most instances, I view it as the lesser of 2 evils...because the actual conversations I'm subjected to in public nauseates me. Can't tell you how many times I've wanted to tell people to "shut the ---up". UGH.

[Tig]

Excellent point, PBP! Being subjected to someone's half of a conversation (usually too loud for some reason) can be a pain.
Maybe I've become old fashioned, but being considerate of others is an important priority and value to me. I try to pass that on to my kids.

[piebaldpython]

+1 on the consideration thing.

One other point.......I live in a big city, take public transit, there's just always people "around" so the less annoying one is to others (haha), maybe the less chance you'll tick somebody off and have something bad happen to you.

This isn't a knock on living in little towns and stuff.......but just an explanation of why texting is such a good thing in terms of minimalizing personal annoyances...at least in a big city or crowded area (like a sports event or a concert).

[deeaa]

I just don't see why does it have to be texting...SMS's cost money. Email would be much better. Or skype, or something. I suppose most teens now have iPhones or something similar anyway. Hell my friend just bought her 7-year old daughter an iPhone.

[piebaldpython]

Texting is about SPEED. E-mail is too cumbersome for a phone for short, brief messages. SKYPE would be just as annoying as a phone call with no privacy.

In this age of 2 income families with a couple of kids, cell phones/texting is how they manage to stay in contact with each other to let others know of changed plans, etc. As I said before, a necessary evil.

It would be nice to have a leisurely private conversation by phone.....but that isn't always possible.

[sunvalleylaw]

Now get off my lawn! :socool


HEY!!! I was gonna work that line into this thread!! :spank

PBP, yah, I suppose texting can be superior in certain circumstances as you describe. And certainly loud conversations in public can be annoying as well. So there is a time and place for everything I suppose. I would like to see people learn the art of conversation more than they seem to doing right now. Mutual respect, empathy, etc. is more easily developed in conversation with humans. You have to actually see and hear them. It is one reason why conversations on these forums can be challenging at times. Maybe going far afield from texting here, but I sure would like people to learn the art of a civil argument or debate. It seems like we just want to yell at each other now, rather than discuss the issues. Sneetches and all that. Texting probably is not to blame. But moving further and further into the habit of communicating with each other via technology rather than contact can't be helping all that much in terms of the overall trend.

(Doesn't mean it is not ok to have a quick convo on the bus about something at work or whatever I suppose. ;))

[Tig]

I take a 40 minute bus ride to and from work as well. It usually has only a dozen people since it is a reverse commute, and there is always someone damn near yelling during their phone conversation. I listen to audio books and have to crank the volume up a bit.

I never see someone doing the loud phone routine when the bus is full, however. As the numbers increase, so does the peer pressure, I guess.


As for security, I keep a can of pepper gel available. It is designed to affect only the target, unlike sprays that can vaporize quickly, especially in high winds or enclosed areas. :cool: It is also legal to carry on public transportation and into my work.

[sunvalleylaw]

Heh, heh. I like to ride the Wood River bike path into work when I can. Don't use a bus much. Texting is hard on a bike! http://www.traillink.com/imagehandler.ashx?id=26302&t=lg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/sunvalleylaw/26304.png

[R_of_G]

Excellent point PBP. When I'm in a public situation, I'd much rather have those around me texting than being subjected to half of their conversation, or subjecting them to half of mine for that matter.

Personally, I enjoy texting more than the consensus here it seems, though I don't text while driving. If someone sends me a text while I'm in the car I won't read it until I get to a red light and I don't answer it until I get where I'm going unless it's urgent, and even then I'll pull over into a parking lot or something to text the person back.

[poodlesrule]

HEY!!! I was gonna work that line into this thread!! :spank

I would like to see people learn the art of conversation more than they seem to doing right now. Mutual respect, empathy, etc. is more easily developed in conversation with humans. You have to actually see and hear them.. ..
snip
I sure would like people to learn the art of a civil argument or debate. moving further and further into the habit of communicating with each other via technology rather than contact can't be helping all that much in terms of the overall trend.)

Going even further, I have become afraid of the fact that, with current communication technologies, some folks can build a walled garden around them, without the need to venture out and say to the guy next to him/her, "Hey, what's shaking..?" or "Gee dude.. your Tevas could use a wash!" i.e, I acknowledge you exist, and I want to interact with you 'cause it's human nature to want that.

And I am still mad at the a**hat who was texting the whole time next to me during the most excellent Soulive concert I went to... two years ago!

[Robert]

I would like to go back in time. 1960 would be long enough.


http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h46/IMASWIMMER27/texting_drivingWM.jpg
http://kushsmoke.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/texting-while-driving.jpg

[Tig]

I would like to go back in time. 1960 would be long enough.


I've been watching Mad Men lately

http://www.entertainmentwallpaper.com/images/desktops/movie/tv_mad_men05.jpg

[omegadot]

If you send me a number or an address in a text I will have it like a note. If you tell me it on the phone I'll forget it and if it's in an email it could get lost with work crap. There are definitely times where the format is very nice.

But in all reality it's text, and so is email. And both are just a bunch of words. If the format upsets you you need to SIT THE @#$% DOWN and calm yourself.

[deeaa]

I guess it depends on the phone, but on smartphones it doesn't really work even as fast as the instant messengers do. I use Gmail and thus I'm available for chat for other gmail users, and that's pretty much as you type speed communication. SMS messages take seconds at best and minutes at worst to arrive. Annd I suppose it's not usual but on my phone I've sometimes gotten text messages that were sent hours earlier.

I think texting will quickly give way to Gtalk, Skype, Facebook messaging (which seems to me kids at school use the most) and such. But it's just a technical matter, the core of the idea is the same.

And yes, it's just because people are so effin' busy these days, all the day. Always in the middle of doing something. I have a few moments in my day that I'm not busy and would have time to chit-chat over the phone; one is in the morning between six and seven or so, give or take 30 minutes, when I wake up with the kid and everyone else is asleep. That's mostly when I write and read on forums like TheFret.

Similarly I have another hour or a little less from 8 to 9 pm when I'm putting the kids to bed, and that's also good time for forums. Or maybe mobile gaming.

All that basically means, though, that on a typical day I will communicate HUGELY more on online forums than with any real person, if you don't count in the talking in class to pupils I suppose. Naah, even then I probably write much more words than speak during the day.

[piebaldpython]

If you send me a number or an address in a text I will have it like a note. If you tell me it on the phone I'll forget it and if it's in an email it could get lost with work crap. There are definitely times where the format is very nice.

Excellent point......one that I use a lot. If I'm at the store or getting take-out at say.....SaladWorks........the girls can text me their order rather than me trying to remember what they said on the phone.

I probably am in the same camp as R of G on this.......Texting is an ADDITIONAL form of communication, not a REPLACEMENT. Something that makes life easier in the long run.

[deeaa]

Google to the rescue with the numbers etc...I always just ask the person whose number I want to call my number, not answer it, and then just give it a name and it'll stay in Google Contacts forever and be available on all devices and platforms. I don't even save contacts on my phone any more, no need. They're all always synchronized anyway. With any luck the other guy or gal is a Google user also and I get the addresses and all too. Gmail is my primary method for saving important info too; I may send stuff to myself from my phone for instance quite often. Like taking a quick snapshot from an address or piece of information and it'll go directly to Gmail. I delete all my 'unnecessary' email as I get it, usually from my phone, but anything that might have something useful is in gmail and will stay there. Then I can just quickly search for it directly from any device.

I guess one reason I don't use texting much is that while my company gave me a work telephone, it's just a cheap junker of a phone, so I NEVER use it, I mean, I do my work calls on my phone almost always...well sometimes I might use the work phone to call someone, because that's what it's for...so I don't have to pay for work calls myself...but I rather pay than use that junker. Now, I have call forwarding always on so when I get work calls, they are redirected to my personal phone, but the catch is texts messages are NOT forwarded, plus now I have to actually pay for work calls I get. But it's like $10 a month at worst so no matter. But...I may not even open my work phone for weeks and sometimes I miss some texts because of that. I just keep it in the charger on the table and it gets lost under the papers there for long times.

Bloody annoying at work that BTW they won't give me a proper phone...if it were even an iPhone I'd probably use it. Anything, but it's just a normal old-style cell. Probably costs under $20.

But that's the trend...I had to fight for two years to get a laptop instead of desktop at work...and when I finally got it, they'd only give me a 19" external display, which I refused. I've been trying to get at least 24" for external display, or I won't accept any. Rather just use the laptop's own display. Also had to buy a laser printer before they arranged for mobile printer connections, and I tried to get a scanner but had to buy my own anyway, as I did an external drive for backups etc. Also for mobile connection they only gave me a measly 512K 3G connection so I got me a 21MB 4G connection with my own expense so I can use YouTube videos etc. in class from my laptop which is always hooked to the class video projector or smartscreen.

Been thinking of installing an SSD drive on my work laptop too at my own expense...it's strictly forbidden to do such mods to these leased machines but I'm on good grounds with the IT folk...and they gave me admin rights to the machine so I could just clone the disk and nobody would notice :-) but this is a pretty fast i5 laptop anyway so maybe not. If I happen to have a spare SSD some of these days I might, but won't buy one for just that use.

[Tig]

Yeah, but pen and paper works even when there is a power outage! :bootyshake
(or without an outage, and faster, too)

[omegadot]

My acoustic world without power but will that lessen the joy from my jag? HELLS NO!

Wiggity wham wham wozle!

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

[Katastrophe]

Officially lost at post #36.

[R_of_G]

Officially lost at post #36.

Well I get this part...


Wiggity wham wham wozle!

...unless he's not making a Futurama reference and that's just something he's prone to saying.

[omegadot]

My phone made works into world :(

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[Tig]

My phone made works into world :(

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk
See? I tried to warn everyone about what these evil phones are really up to, but nooooooo! :nope :wave:
I wonder who's behind it...

http://beerepiphany.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/pinky_brain.jpg

[omegadot]

I saw the typo after I sent it and could have edited and fixed but it was just too delicious given my overall defense of the texting.