Tell me everything, but tell it to me all on text because I don't want to get too personal. It doesn't take a genius to see that text messaging has changed the nature of how we communicate, but it does take a genius to comment on how it doesn't take a genius to realize this. Part of me feels as if texting has improved my ability to stay in touch with people, while another part of me feels just because you are communicating with someone doesn't mean you are actually saying anything, while the third part of me wants to text the other two parts of me to meet up for drinks later.
Have you ever got into a text message fight? You furiously type into your phone, thumbs punctuating each letter as your third eye wrinkles with rage. But then you have to wait for whomever you are fighting with to reply with their text venom. Although you don't want to lose the momentum of your anger, it is boring just staring at your phone waiting to continue your wrath. So you sigh, look in the mirror, pick at your teeth, remember you need to buy toilet paper, wonder if it is worth the extra dollar to get the recycled eco-brand, then stress out about where they get recycled toilet paper from because isn't it disgusting to use toilet paper twice, change your status update to "drinking tea in the afternoon," then hear the text notification and prepare to continue your verbal attack.
Or what about text message lying? Don't you feel the quantum energy of the text lie through the phone? Maybe you asked a friend to hang out, and while you are waiting and expecting them you get a text saying "Darn, can't make it today. I am sick ☹." But by just looking at the text you feel the text lie penetrating through the phone. If they were really ill they would have called so you could have heard their sick voice, right? So then you text lie back saying "I hope you feel better" even though you don't.
What about the ignore text? Sometimes someone texts you, you read it, but don't respond. You just let it simmer, or not respond at all. Sometimes people will text ignore you and you will think to yourself "Hey! I know you read my text. Everyone gets their texts... this is so annoying. Why won't you just answer me? It takes two seconds to write a text!" The irony is that even though you have felt the frustration of experiencing the ignore text, you still do it to other people. Why is that? Are we playing a power game? Are we subconsciously telling that person "yeah I could tell you 'what's up' or I could continue watching YouTube videos while you think I am super busy."
Then of course there is text flirting, which when taken to the extreme transforms into the very bold "sexting." Text flirting is best communicated through winky-faces, exclamation points, and LOL's, but, as for sexting, you are going to have to get someone else to give you a tutorial because I am pretty much a novice... I am not famous enough for hookers to text me back. Text flirting has facilitated a new breed of romance so poetic in nature that if Shakespeare were alive today he would have been inspired to write Romeo and Juliet 2, in 3D. Such epic phrasing like 'where r u ;),' 'let's meet up :*,' and 'r u DTF?'
Texting has become so relevant in our modern culture that even my grandmother sends them. But does that mean we are genuinely more connected, or do we hide behind texts to avoid actually dealing with uncomfortable situations? Isn't it so much easier to drunk text than having to expose your vulnerability face-to-face? But despite the fact that our thumbs are doing the talking, there is energy to texting that can still be viscerally experienced by the receiver. There is something behind human sentiments that, despite being intangible, can circumvent technology and we can feel it through our phones. So even though text messaging has changed the format of how we connect, it hasn't changed our ability to affect one another on an emotional level evn if mst of ur wrds r abbrvi8d ☺