When I was younger, I was a big fan of writing letters. I wrote letters home while in camp, I wrote to teachers whom I favored, I wrote to athletes and got signed photos in return, I even wrote to the president but apparently Regan was not one to respond to requests of of making school only two days a week.
As time went on I discovered the wonderment of email. To send a letter and not have to pay for a stamp was something of a cost saver for a penny pincher like myself. Then of course the cellphone came a long, which can merit an entire post by itself. For this post in particular, I wish to pontificate upon the annoyance of text messaging, which has reared its dirty head in society and sees no end in sight.
I bet each of you reading this post right now are either a Texthead or know a Texthead. These are the people who NEVER answer their cellphones but only want to communicate with you using text messagingmethod or I could use the proper terminology SMS (Short Messaging Service)
It is estimated that at least 2.4 billion people have text messaged on their cellphones making this communicative method of conversing the most widely used in the world. It has become so mainstream that there are competitions held for fastest texters. I should say that text messaging is not bad if used in moderation. But to block off any kind of discussion and interaction with friends, family and loved ones in substitute of a texting is simply rude, impersonal and quite frankly offensive to me. This post is not directed to an individual person but rather directed to our society.
The worst kind of Textheads are those who mass text trivial parts of their day. Such as the guy that must tell everyone that Bon Jovi is coming to town and he got tickets....I love Bon Jovi but in the scheme of lifes important moments this really doesn't warrant a mass text. Then there is the person that text messages me at 11pm on November 4th to inform me that Barack Obama is elected as our first African American President...Once again these are things I'm very well aware but thanks for the text pal.
Then there are those who feel like they need to text message everyone holiday greetings. Once again, I appreciate the thought but holiday cards are far more personal and meaningful then texting a generic message to over 200 people in your contact list. y biggest gripe with text messaging is that they cost money to send and receive. Therefore each time you (once again "you is referring to society) provide me useless details of your day, I am involuntarily being charged 10 cents multiply that by everyones useless messages and I'm hit with mega charges. There are no "Do you accept these text messages" options on my phone. I should mention that cellphone companies have made of 90 billion dollars in text messaging alone. Its highway robbery if you ask me.
So allow me to instruct you on ways texting would be deemed appropriate...
1. Emergency notification. You must reach someone quickly who you know may be screening their calls.
2. To send vital information to someone on the go (texting an email, address, phone number etc)
3. If you are in a crowded room and talking on the phone would be tough because of the noise.
Thats my take. Whats yours? Is texting out of control?
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