Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Texting as main source of communication?

Is texting the new form of communication?
By Tara Twietmeyer
NewsNet5.com

"Beep, beep, beep.” Another text message alert goes off.

Why can’t he just pick up the phone and call me? How on earth is anyone supposed to get to know someone in 160 characters or less?

More and more, women are talking about men using text messages these days as their main source of communication in relationships.

And guess what guys? Many women are calling it an “unsettling” trend, saying they almost always prefer a phone call and are sick and tired of all the beeping and dinging!

“I understand if it is just a quick text to say, 'Hey' or 'I’m running late,'" said Leigh Walsh, a resident of Phoenix, Arizona, and single mom. “But, what drives me crazy is when it is a full on conversation over texting. It is so impersonal and quite frankly, annoying."

More often than not, women say they know what kind of mood a man is in by listening to the tone of a voice. But how is a woman supposed to do that over text messaging?

Texting has become the new form of communication, but is it going too far? Texting is great for a quick message, but it’s becoming the only way of communication. Now that the phones offer keypads, it just gets easier and more convenient to text message rather then picking up the phone, but it’s not as personal.

2.5 billion text messages are sent each day in the US. Most of the text messaging is being done by 13-17 age range. The next most popular age is 18-24. The average text message used each month is 357 compared to 204 phone calls. Text messaging is replacing talking, and hindering the ability to form a face-to-face relationship. Some of the concerns are that kids are not learning to communication with people directly.

No comments: