Hi, I'm Jenny Niesluchowski and I'm a sophomore communications major considering a business minor. I'm from Camarillo, California where I enjoyed 18 years of endless sunshine until I stumbled upon this cozy town of Ithaca. I have an identical twin, and in response to the typical "are you guys twins?" we love making up elaborate stories about how completely unrelated we are. I'm afraid some people are still under the impression that we are second cousins twice removed and we met here at Cornell where we happened to be assigned as roommates.
The question I'd like to propose is why text messaging has become so popular. I, for one, am ecstatic with Verizon's free Verizon to Verizon texting, but why do people need unlimited text messages? Why is it sometimes more convenient to type out a conversation when you can simply dial the number and have a direct conversation? Well I believe one answer can be spelled out in two words: awkward silence. Think back to those high school days when you and a crush were just starting to get acquainted. The one way to avoid the dreaded silence was to have a conversation through text message. This way, the casual "Hey what are you doing this weekend?" can sound as cool and collected as you hoped it could be.
And who can argue with the ease and secrecy of text messaging your way through that boring lecture series? I can attest that it has kept me alert and staring somewhat in the direction of my blank notebook for what has seemed like hundreds of powerpoint slides. Thank you Verizon.
But most importantly, what is it that makes us meticulously( or for some people manically) type our words rather than speak them. I believe that text messaging, like instant messaging, allows for people to "think before they speak." By this I mean that text conversations are not instantaneous. It is easier to find a false sense of security within a cell phone as there is behind a computer screen. The more people are removed from face to face interaction, the more likely they are to create a false persona. This gap of time, however long the texter wishes to take to reply to a message, enables him or her to manipulate the words that would have otherwise come naturally in a face to face conversation.
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Hey Jenny,
I think you bring up a very good point! Text messaging has recently become extremely popular, but it's hard to know exactly why. Often it is because of ease or, like you said, being somewhere you are not physically able to talk. On numerous other occasions, however, I'll be sitting at home, wondering what my friend is doing, and proceed to text them for ten minutes when the same conversation could have been verbally completed in sixty seconds. I definitely agree with your comment on "awkward silence." Many people will say things through a text that they feel uncomfortable saying on the phone. It may be something completely out of character, or if they fear rejection, etc. but whatever the case, texting definitely takes away some of that pressure. Texting can be stressful, however, if the sender is anxiously awaiting a response. The important thing to remember is that if you are taking an easier route by texting, your receiver may take an easier route and just not respond. It’s much easier to ignore a question of “Hey, got any plans for this weekend” through texting than in an actual phone conversation.
Hi Jenny,
You brought up interesting points about the popularity of texting. I agree with you that texting is a way of communicating without having those unforgettable "awkward silences." In my own blog I talked about how awkward silences can easily occur on the phone or face-to-face yet texting, instant messaging, and emails prevent that from happening.
Also, I like how you talked about texting in lectures. I can recall all the times I get bored in lecture and then I start texting friends about having lunch after class. When we are bored in lecture, we can't just start talking to someone, so the next best thing is to text a friend (if we don't have a blackberry or iphone to check or send an email). However, I realized that when I start texting in class, I sometimes find that I don't stop texting until the end of lecture.
Texting has become a replacement for phone calls. It seems to be so convenient to send a text than to call a friend. For example, if I wanted to borrow a book from a friend. I can simply send a text asking if my friend is using his/her book and if I can borrow it. However, in a phone call, it would seem rude if you just asked that question, got your response and hung up. During a phone call you would ask how your friend was doing and make the conversation comfortable enough so you can squeeze that question into the phone call.
I agree with your point of text messaging as a solution to awkward silence, but I believe the flip side might also be true. Awkward silence in terms of messaging could be seen when the nature of text messaging jumps between asynchronous and synchronous communication. Imagine a text message conversation with someone while in lecture. The other party responds quickly to any message you send him or her. Suddenly, the messages stop coming. Would you feel awkward or get a feeling that something wasn't right? If you then receive a reply after a period, would you feel more relieved? I guess what I'm trying to say is that while on the whole, instant messaging isn't instantaneous (you can go back and edit your message before you change or whatever), it can be made to seem almost instantaneous. The problem of awkward silence returns when an attempt at instantaneous conversation isn't consistent.
You raise a very good point about text messaging. I remember having a big crush on a girl in high school. I could talk to her and make her laugh and enjoy her company in person, but when it came to phone calls we were constantly plagued by those awkward silences. I was pretty good at reading her face so I could usually tell when what I was saying ceased to be funny and started to be stupid but when we spoke on the phone I had less time to think and my only clues that I said something wrong was that long, killing silence. When we both realized this, we ended up chatting a lot on AIM and texting from time to time since that costs more money. At one point, we would even call to tell each other when we would be on AIM. It is very funny now that I think back on it. I still find it easier to speak with certain people on AIM though than over the phone. When I chat on AIM, I usually expect that people are doing other things or chatting with other people at the same time so I am never offended by a long pause between messages. Without those pesky silences to deal with, I can say exactly what I want to people without feeling self conscious about another person’s lack of interest in me or my desire to get away from someone boring.
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