From introvert to textrovert
In the last post we talked about some tragedies resulting from texting, a habit that young people have especially embraced. As promised, however, this time we’ll look at the more innocent aspects of this phenomenon.
But first, I can’t help but feel that the late media seer Marshall McLuhan might well be surprised – if not shocked – to see that this recent iteration of the digital age has actually brought young people back to the written word.
A young college student enjoys festivities in Berlin last November 9 on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. She had just finished texting friends in America about the experience. Photo by Jim Willis.
And he would be downright speechless over the fact that many prefer it over audio-visual communication. For it was McLuhan who, among other things, predicted that what he called “the electronic age” (television then) was taking us back to the pre-literate tribal era of oral — and aural – communication.
Not so, according to nearly all my college students here at California’s Azusa Pacific University. This week I opened up a lively discussion in two of my classes about preferences of texting vs. calling.
The hands-down winner among these young 20-somethings? Texting.
When I asked how many students send and receive at least 20 texts a day, the room broke out in laughter. “Are you serious, Dr. Willis?” one student asked. “How about 100 to 200 a day?”
I thought she was kidding until others joined in agreement. Turns out the average fell between 100 and 150 texts sent and received in a given day.
And I’m still reeling from that, because I haven’t even made it close to the 20 mark myself.
The most common answers to the question, “Why is texting so popular?” were that texting is quicker and more convenient.
More convenient to type out a 20-word message than to punch in a seven-digit phone number? Yes, they said, especially if you are doing something else at the time … like sitting in class, trying to look like you’re attuned to what your prof is saying. Blackberries and I-phones fit snugly into one’s lap, after all.
Puhleeze, Mom!
One student said her mom used to try to call her several times during the day, and that often those calls would come while she was in class. So the student negotiated a deal with her mom to text her instead.
One senior told me that she will answer texts quicker than she will answer phone messages. During our discussion away from class, her phone did ring, and she ignored it. “See?” she said. “If that had been a text, I might have answered it right away.”
This same student then said that texting has become the preferred way for a young person to show interest in someone he or she has just met.
“It’s a lot less threatening than risking face-to-face rejection,” she said. “And,” she added, “how long it takes for the other person to respond to that text is very important. If it takes more than an hour or two, forget it. He’s just not that into you.”
Texting = Flirting?
In fact, she said many young people have come to equate the term texting, as in “John is texting Jennifer,” to mean John and Jennifer have romantic interests in each other, or at least that they are flirting. On the other hand, to say John has texted Jennifer refers more to a simple exchange of information.
Another student agreed that texting is used as a preferred way of meeting people, estimating that, “Ninety percent of all new relationships begin with texting.”
Have times changed since I was 22 or what?
One sophomore said he texts some people “who I would just find it weird to talk to.” Weird? “Yeah, you know. Some people you just have a hard time talking to. But texting them is different and it often works when talking doesn’t. It’s just not as weird.”
Texting seems to be the preferred way that young people have of starting many relationships. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
What we’re talking about here is the chilling effect that non-verbal cues can have on a communication exchange. In the world of texting, e-mails, and chat rooms, no such non-verbal cues need exist.
That’s fine, unless you believe you can really know another person without experiencing their non-verbal language. Because you can’t. Most of us care more about how someone says something than what they actually say. That goes for how they laugh (and how often), too.
Still, the first time I realized students come alive more in text is when I taught my first class online, some 12 years ago. After worrying about how a text-based system of real-time communication would work in a virtual classroom, I was pleased to find that online students open up much more than when they are face to face.
I remember one particular moment when a colleague passed by my open doorway and did a double-take when he heard me laughing out loud at the computer screen. The textual exchange had reached the point of hilarity, and I couldn’t contain myself. From that moment on, my fears about online teaching disappeared.
One of my students at Azusa Pacific informed me yesterday that a word now actually exists for the person who can open up online, but has trouble doing it in person. The word is “textrovert,” or that person who is an introvert in the flesh but an extrovert in texting.
It’s a great word and an accurate one. I have taken the same students who sat speechless in a regular classroom, put then in an online room and watched them explode into textual commentary on what I was saying.
Another student posited that texting allows us to focus more on ideas themselves and less on the person we’re talking to. For certain kinds of communication, that’s not bad.
Oops … Make that “s-p-e-l-l-i-n-g”
One problem with texting, opined another student, is bad spelling. And, she said, it is often not seen as a problem by the person guilty of it. “They think they’re getting their message across, but what they don’t realize is others may be making fun of what a bad speller they are,” she said.
And another problem? The occasional student who uses texting language in a college paper. It is not that uncommon to find an occasional “cuz,” “omg,” or other textual shortcut show up in a term paper. Results are predictable and are usually contained within the single letters of D or F.
One other surprising finding from my students: they aren’t that much into tweeting. Twitter seems to have captured only about 10-15 percent of them. Texting works just fine for short-burst messages of 20 or so words, while Facebook or e-mails take over nicely for longer messages.
Is it a different world out there? You bet. But hey, for me and a lot of other college profs like me, it’s just great to see kids falling in love with the written language again.
Sorry McLuhan. You were right about so many other things.
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Comments
Texting is something that I find more annoying then I do convenient as other students have expressed in this article. My reason for finding it annoying is probably because I do not have an unlimited texting plan, and that I already am an extrovert. I don’t feel I need to a cellphone to bring out my true identity. I honestly feel that making phone calls to arrange plans is much better than texting. On some occasions I will most likely call someone if they just texted me asking me a question; just because I find it much easier.
The Marshall McLuhan tid-bit I found interesting though, but let’s look at his most popular phrase: “the medium is the message.” I do believe that McLuhan is right on the money when we apply this to text messaging. What is the medium here? The cellphone. So many companies are making cellphones purely for texting; with the slide keyboard, etc. One cellphone, the new Droid, has three different types of keyboards built in to the phone. All this so that people can have easier ways to send their message. Therefore, the medium is the message. I hope you all can understand that because it made so much sense in my head. So yeah, I do believe that McLuhan can be right in some ways with texting.
As I sat here in the library reading this, I could not stop laughing. It was not solely due to the entertaining way this blog was written but at how accurate the information was portrayed and the quotes used. Yes I do agree that texting has encouraged our generation to write more; unfortunately something had to give which was grammar and spelling. Although texting is a lot more efficient and beneficial in receiving and delivering a more rapid response, it has discouraged a lot of young people to pursue face to face interaction.
I fall into that category of sending hundreds of text messages a day. Well, maybe not that many, but I do enjoy sending texts. Because texting is a much faster way to communicate, as well as allowing one to multi-task, while texting, it is very appealing. Especially, in this day and age, we are a society of instant gratification. Not only does the younger generation find it useful, but I know many adults who have found texting an interesting way of communication as well. I find that if I need to send a quick message, such as where and when to meet someone, or when I will be out of class, etc. then texting is helpful. However, I do believe that those who are so dependent on just texting, it is now much harder for them to dial a number and actually have a real conversation. I have a friend who always calls me because she doesn’t pay for texting. She will call just to say hi! I find myself not always answering her calls when I am busy, but when I do, it is so good just to hear the tone and expressions in her voice. We end up having a more meaningful and deeper conversation than if we were to just text. While I have had deep conversations over text, it grows tiresome, because the texts end up being so long! I’d rather call the person to talk rather than write paragraphs of texts. Writing emails is another story because it is like writing a letter. I like to write emails, which I think is also more personable than a text because it contains more content and context. Texting definitely has a negative side because it doesn’t allow for nonverbal, as the blog stated. We cannot see the person’s expressions, or hear their tone of voice. Often text message can be misinterpreted or misread, causing tension or resentment in that relationship. However, nowadays, many people are using exclamation points to indicate happiness/excitement or using emoticons such as smiley faces. So, while I think that texting does allow a quick way to send and receive messages, it does have a downside, in that it is not the same as a real face-to-face conversation. It lacks personality and interpersonal skills. It creates excuses for people who are interested in each other to simply type a message, which isn’t as personable, rather than calling and talking to them directly, although some would prefer that more impersonal distance, because it does create less pressure. Then after texting, they can determine if they would like to begin a more substantial relationship.
I hate to admit it, but I am one of those people. I text for everything. Before getting into texting I had a lot more face-to-face interaction with people. I believe that getting to know people the old fashioned way is pretty rewarding, but time consuming. Sadly, texting has become my mode of communication due to time constraints. Honestly for me it is easier to text a person rather then talk to them on the phone. Phone calls sometimes take up more time than a text, because it is hard to cut them short (at least for me). When I text a person I get right to the point. I don’t have to bother with the formality of talking on the phone, “hello how are you…” Etc. In the future I would like to become that person I once was, and allow myself to get to know people based on their laugh, nonverbal behavior, and so many other things, but right now texting is perfect for my college lifestyle.
I am also an avid texter and I can agree with many of the people mentioned in this blog. I text because it is convenient and because I can be doing other things at the same time. People can expect an immediate answer from me if they text me versus if they call me and leave a message. I cannot stand having to go into my voicemail to listen to someone’s message. It annoys me greatly and I would much rather text them. I think that when I graduate and have a job I will need to adapt to a world of calling people more because of the fact that I will have customers and colleagues who may prefer a call and might even find texting rude and inconsiderate. I believe that my generation has a unique view on texting while the older generations tend to lean more towards wanting face to face conversations or phone calls. This is completely ok with me, but with my peers texting is the way to go in my opinion.
I think this article is such a true depiction of the way that we communicate today. I have to admit, I text a lot and find it to be a very simple, conveient way to communicate with people especially on really busy days when a phone call might seem to impossible to make until late at night. It is a way that we can feel constantly engaged with our friends at all times. I am not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but it is reality. Texting is still new and therefore our parents or professors seem to be completely in the dark about texting while my friends and i can’t imagine our lives without it. It does sometimes make me think of what we are missing when all we do is text instead of pick up the phone to call someone or simply just wait until we see the person in person in order to talk to them. However, I think it would be too ignorant of us to ignore the idea of texting and boycott it. It is so much of todays culture and even organizations and businesses. I read an article about Google and how all of their employees just text their boss down the hall in order to get quciker responses rather than walking into their office to ask them a question. I think that texting is not a negative aspect of our society and the way we communicate, but there are limitations of how it should be used. For example, I can’t ever imagine that a romantic/flirty text message could ever meet a good old fashion dinner out and quality time spent with the individual.
I myself am guilty of texting. Before texting was even invented people actually had emotion in them, i feel as though texting lacks emotion. You can say something and the person recieving it can interpret it differently. We rely on texting too much. We spend over hundreds of dollars a year just to say a couple words to someone instead of picking up the phone and speaking with the person. No wonder the world is in a money crisis. We are becoming more and more lazier as times goes on. We figure out short words like “btw” meaning by the way instead of actually typing it out or texting it to the person. The whole english language has changed because of our laziness. I am guilty of texting and hope that the face to face interactions become a major part of our younger generation. Texting has not caused anything good but has taken the lives to many people and have put many peoples lives in danger.
I believe there is a lot of truth to this blog, most people would rather have a texting conversation than an actual one on the phone. Some say it takes the pressure off of the conversation being awkward or too long. Personally, I would much rather call someone if I have to tell them something or if I havent talked to them in awhile. It is good to hear their voice, their laugh and the tone in their actual expressions. I believe that a phone call is much more meaningful and it helps build relationships on a different level the way that texts cannot. On the other hand I think texting keeps relationships. I do text everyday, all day. Little “hello’s” or “Just was thinking about you-hope your doing well” are things that just let people know that you are still there anytime they need to talk to someone. Texting is very important. It builds self-esteem, it makes you feel like people are thinking about you, it makes you have the ability to keep your foot in a relationships when you have let them slide.. things like that. As far as the shy people being outgoing on texts, this is so accurate! I have had experience with people like this. This blog is 100% true and interesting to hear the opinions of others on this matter.
This article reminds me about something that my friends and I have discussed before, and that is what would we even do without texting? I know that it may come to a shock to many of the older generations but we have formed this codependency on the convenience of text messaging, facebook, myspace, and etc. My friends and I sat down one day and began talking about what it would look like to live without such conveniences. We came to a general consensus that it would be so strange, and that some of us might even go through withdrawls. I remember when I first got a cellphone and I started texting it was almost a competition as to who could get the most text messages in a day. Everyone was constantly texting and so by default you would create conversations so that you wouldnt get left out.
As far as texting being the initiator in a relationship, as sad as it may seem it is unbelievable common amongst most of the people that I know. My best friend once met this guy and they did the normal exchanging of numbers. From the moment that the exchange took place there were a list of questions that kept replaying through her mind : ” How long do you think it will take him to text me? Should I text him first? Maybe hes not interested if he doesnt text me within the first week?” These are all normal questions amongst this generation, and when you think of it in retrospect, in my opinion, it is really sad that this is how we get to know each other. I guess you could say once you go texting, you never go back.
It’s funny how texting has just exploded as probably the most common form of communication after actual face-to-face conversation. I find there are days when I love texting and days where I hate it. I love it when I am busy and can multi-task. It’s great to be able to text anyone I need to communicate anytime without worrying about bothering them or them not calling you back. You can get across all the information you need to within one simple message. I also fell more in love with texting when I was dating someone seriously who didn’t go to the same school as me and who I only saw once a week. Texting was a way for us to feel close because we could be communicating all day long while we were at work or in class. Making plans with a group of people is done much easier with texting too. One can send out a text to as many people as they want and save themselves a bunch of phone calls. Now I have never been much of a phone person (I’m not huge on ‘small talk’ which I feel like dominates majority of phone conversations with anyone outside of close family and friends), so texting is often a preferable form of communication. On the other hand, I don’t think that texting should completely replace other forms of communication, such as talking on the phone. This is where I sometimes hate texting. There are some people out there who make me feel like texting is some sort of responsibility. As a friend has said to me “I didn’t choose this form of communication, it was forced upon me!” In some respects, I agree. Too often I have given my number to a guy, and rather than actually calling me and asking me out on a date like a man, they will choose the cowardly route of sending me an ambiguous text message such as “hey…” or “we should hang out sometime”. In every one of those occasions I don’t respond. There have been others who claim to be “textaholics” who will text me nearly 40 times a day, when I probably average like 30 total regularly. Again, it’s safe to say those people don’t last long with me. Basically, texting can be great when it comes to making plans with friends or classmates and to stay in communication with someone you care about when you can’t be on the phone; but I think it’s important that people don’t completely resort to texting for everything. We should still be able to call others and know how to talk on the phone, especially with our people we’re close with! Sometimes the informality of a text message is just completely inappropriate.
Being a fellow student in your intro into mass media, I remember this class discussion. I would still have to say that I prefer texting over calling. Personally I have denied friends’ phone calls because I could save time to text them instead while also accomplishing other tasks as well. However, just because I prefer texting over phone calls does not mean that I do not appreciate formal communication. I know how to be intentional about my relationships and put forth effort to create time to talk face to face. I would much rather talking to the person face to face than texting, if they were not a stranger. I agree that texting had become the easy way out of harsh rejection. I have caught myself even referring to texting in terms of “flirting”. I almost feel that if my generation was suddenly deprived of certain technology (i.e. Internet, cell phones, IPod’s, GPS) that we would be set back according to the relational world. I totally believe that our technological advances have created new, ingenious path ways of discovery; although it lacks the tangible, day-to-day personal connection with other humans for a personal connection with technology instead. I believe everyone becomes a “textrovert” whether over social networks or even emails. However, I do not have a ton of respect for the people who hide behind their “texts” “status’” “tweets” or “emails”. Texting has depleted the personable aspect of communication. Yes, it has become a new world out there but I believe too many young adults/college students have become overwhelmingly comfortable with hiding behind their technology and have forgotten the real world in general.
I cannot speak for my generation peers, but as far as my preference goes, texting is way overrated. Not only is it immensely more difficult to text someone 15 times than have a 10 second conversation over the phone, it costs more! OK, maybe I am just a cheap college student, but that adds up! I am not saying that texting does not have its perks. It is handy for situations where a phone conversation is not possible, or to send a reminder to someone without disrupting them, but it seems to me that texting has nearly taken over conversing orally these days. I can’t tell you how many times I hear the phrase, “OK sure, just text me and let me know.” We as young adults depend so heavily on texting these days, and it seems that the rest of the population does the same. It is a surprising phenomenon in a sense, but looking at the trend of social media that has consumed our society, it makes complete sense.
This is such a relevant topic of discussion and avenue for injury for college students and texting. This in my opinion is one of the most common forms of communication between college students and youth. It is more convenient to text someone, rather than calling someone. The reason? You can text someone with little interruption in the day. You can text someone while you are at work, in class and even when you are with someone else. This has brought up much debate over whether this is helping or hurting relationships and face-to-face communication. While texting is convenient and can be done without much interruption to the day, there are aspects of communication that can not be communicated through texting as with face-to-face communication such as non verbals and emotions. There is positive and negative aspects to texting someone, and although this is the means of communication, there is an aspect of communication that gets lost in translation through texting. To keep up with the way people communicate through technology versus face-to-face communication is to adapt, and look at the positive aspects an convenient accept or change the negative. Although I text my friends a good amount, it is, fast, and efficient, there is nothing that replaces the form of communication of face-to-face communication.
This article is SO true in so many ways. First off, I prefer texting over calling. It is easier, faster, and I can text someone something important real quick while being in a nosy place or any other situations I could not call in. Second, my girlfriend and I first started talking in depth through text messages. She would send me flirty little happy faces and sweet good morning texts and I still get them today! However, sometimes it can be difficult to understand how people are trying to say a message through a text. Is someone saying “Hello” as in “hi” or “Hello” as in “are you serious”? Thirdly, I have definitely seen my peers spelling worsen as texting grows. I don’t know how many times I have been working on a group project and the paper will have abbreviations like “wat”, “ok”, “thru”. Texting has its positives and negatives just like everything else.
I personally still prefer a good old fashioned, wire to wire, plugged into the wall phone call. I think texting has improved our ability to communicate on a faster level. But it has done more than just expand, it has also caused a decrease in social skills. In our youth group I often find students engage much less than they used to. They are no longer to having face to face conversations. This may cause a decrease in students social skills.
It is crazy how much I agree with everything in this article. The way technology has taken over our lives these days is ridiculous. It is so true that texting begins most relationships. It is a great way to get to know each other in a way that isn’t awkward so that when you go on the first date you already know a lot about one another. My phone broke over three weeks ago, and I haven’t bought a new one yet. It is sad to see how much I rely on my phone. I’ve met new friends that I cannot connect with because I can’t text them. I can’t wake up in the morning because my phone was my alarm. I can’t remind myself to take my pills in the afternoon because my phone’s reminder doesn’t sound anymore. I can’t text my existing friends to tell them that I’m coming over. I can’t even call them from someone else’s phone because having a list of contacts has allowed me to not have to memorize numbers anymore. I also agree that it is easier to text someone who is “weird” to talk to in person. Texting allows people to in a sense hide behind a curtain in life. However, in order to avoid a miscommunication, I add smiley’s in my texts so that people know what attitude I have at the moment. That way the person won’t read into it in a way that I did not intend. All in all, texting seems to make everything easier!
This article struck a cord in that it is SO true. Texting has become so widespread since its’ entry into the wireless world. I feel like texting has created a very lazy generation. We have resorted to just writing our feelings instead of being able to say it on the phone or even face to face. Texting is an easy way out of a situation or confrontation. I my self fall into this category. I was not allowed to have texting until my senior year in high school so when I did get it I exploded! I texted all the time whenever I could. If I got a call I would tell them I would just text them, and hang up. It was such a thrill to recieve writtan conversations on a cell phone.
As far as abbreviations go, it was fun to abbreviate words; spelling them different ways. Such as: rly (really), or wat (what), thru (through), goin (going), lol (laugh out loud). It was just like a young generation thing that was just so fun and exciting. Personally, when I write papers for school I catch myself abbreviating words because it is just second nature to me. Also, I have noticed my punctuation is off because I text so much and do not use any punctuation as far as periods and exclamation points…
Yet, I still do enjoy the phone. As I have gotten older I have noticed that texting can only take you so far in a relationship. Talking to a person directly on the phone shows a stronger genuine effort with that relationship. Especially with the opposite sex. There is nothing wrong with texting, its just that, hopefully, there is a balance between it.