I’d TILII
but CT cuz BIL so CWYL.Texting.
It’s quick. It’s easy. And it’s here to stay – at least until technology
comes up with a more efficient means of producing text than fingers on
keyboards.
Compared with e-mail, texting is
Quicker.
Constant connectivity promotes a culture of "reachability," which
encourages users to check for messages more frequently and respond more
rapidly.
More discreet.
If you’re adept, you can text out of sight
– below a desk or table or behind a book, purse, or briefcase – without
breaking eye contact with the person you’re supposed to be listening to or
interacting with.
More portable and available.
Whereas it would violate social norms to
carry a laptop into a theater, sporting event, lecture, live performance,
or bathroom stall, handheld devices are easily concealed.
More concise and efficient.
Short Message Service (SMS) language is ultra concise, relying heavily on
abbreviations, initialisms (in which the letters are pronounced
individually, as with LOL for "Laughing Out Loud"), and acronyms (in which
the letters are pronounced like words, as with ACORN for "A Completely
Obsessive, Really Nutty" person and UPOD for "Under Promise, Over
Deliver," though in my experience OPUD is more common).
More direct and candid in tone.
Abbreviated, shorthand communication encourages a headlong,
straightforward TILII ("Tell It Like It Is") style that values personality
and emphasis over subtlety and substance.
More fun.
For younger users, texting feels like something they own, a medium they
can use to exclude older people.
One the negative side, texting is
More likely to be used at inappropriate
times. Because texting is so
easy, texters are tempted to fire off a message rather than wait for a
more appropriate time to communicate.
More likely to encourage inconsequential
communication and self-disclosure.
Short, quick exchanges in a social
networking environment create a culture of sharing information for the
sake of sharing, sometimes to the detriment of the user’s professional
standing or reputation, especially when, in the words of Lee Rainie
(Director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project), a message "jumps
the wall" and private information becomes public.
More likely to be incomplete and
inadequate. Hurried creation of
text in severely limited space results in less detail and less carefully
developed thought.
More prone to typographical and
proofreading errors. Rapid-fire
exchanges diminish the likelihood of careful proofreading.
More likely to be incomprehensible or
misunderstood. Initialisms and
acronyms are not understood by everyone, and sometimes they have more than
one meaning, as with STD, which means both "Seal The Deal" and "Sexually
Transmitted Disease."
More likely to result in unacceptable
style and tone. Informality may
cause users to be blunt, undiplomatic, inappropriately casual, and
unprofessional in their word choice. Younger users and digital natives may
be less sensitive to the various levels of formality required in business
communication.
So, as I said, I’d tell it like it is,
but I can’t talk because the boss is listening, so I’ll chat with you
later.
