Texting No-Nos

In today's world where technology has taken over space, communication reached its vertex. Thanks to different social media platforms, we can now communicate with our loved ones. Gone are the days when humans relied on pigeons, smoke signals, town crises, and other barbaric methods. Today, you can send a message through to friends and families from the comfort of your homes. All it takes is a few clicks. When it comes to communication, people have different preferences. Some like texting, while others prefer calls. It all narrows down to individual preferences.

On my WhatsApp (and other social media platforms), I see people talk about how much they detest calls. They go; please, if it is not important, don’t call me. Some people even go as far as putting their phones on Do Not Disturb. While I have nothing against people who are not comfortable with calls, I think people who put their phones on Do Not Disturb to avoid disturbances, do way too much. What if you miss an important call? I remember trying this method one time. I had just graduated from high school. I came across a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) where the user complained about how much they hated calls and how they always put their phones on DND. I wanted to try this method. So, I started to always put my phone on DND. Everything was going fine until I almost missed a golden opportunity. My friend and I planned to enroll in an external program. Initially, we thought the registration would end in 2 days, but it actually ended in 10 hours. My friend tried reaching me, but my phone was on DND. Thankfully, I did the needful before it was too late.

I prefer calls, but it depends on who I'm talking to. If I'm comfortable with someone, I enjoy talking on the phone more. I have noticed that when I'm not comfortable, I tend to hide my voice and prefer texting. For instance, when a stranger or a person who I'm comfortable with tries calling me, I’d most likely decline and come up with a “valid” excuse for why I'd prefer texting. I might say “Oh, the network is not good, and you might not hear me.” But when I'm comfortable, I become more talkative and open.

I think I'm a pretty interesting person and when I converse with someone who shares the same interests and energy, the conversation flows effortlessly. As long as the person returns the same energy, we can talk for hours and never run out of topics. The best way I get close to someone is when we share similar interests. For example, if the person is an anime lover or a book freak. Surely, we would connect effortlessly.

When it comes to texting, I don’t have “rules” per se. I have never written down a list of do’s and don’ts. However, there are a few things that make me lose interest in a conversation. Of all my texting pet peeves, the one that tops the list is dry replies. Have you ever tried striking up an interesting conversation with a person and they reply with one word answers? You could take your time typing a message and the person replies with a lifeless response. Don’t you have a brain? These are the basics. Where's the vibe? Where's the energy? There are two reasons people give slow replies. One, they are not comfortable with the person and are indirectly saying “Get out of my face.” Second, they just do not have good communication skills.

The next is silly abbreviations. Seeing messages like “Au wz yr day?” cringes me. It makes me want to pluck out my eyes. I mean, come on, we are not old school anymore. These things were “cool” then. During my days on Facebook, my friends and I enjoyed using these silly abbreviations. At that time, it was the real deal. But times have changed now. Like, why are you still doing this? Managing space? If you can’t take the time to type out a proper sentence, then get out of my DMs, little one.

I remember when I corrected my friend about using silly abbreviations. We don’t chat often. But whenever we do, he uses silly abbreviations. “Xup. Gud af2nun.” At first, I didn’t say anything because I didn’t feel the need to correct him, but the straw that broke the camel’s back was when he typed a lengthy message filled with these silly abbreviations. I was so pissed and couldn’t take it anymore that I had to correct him. Of course, I did it politely and I’m glad he listened to me. Now, he texts like a normal human being.

Summarily, when it comes to texting, I don’t have rigid rules, but these are my texting pet peeves.

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Thanks for reading.