Here's something that REALLY bothers me....is WRONG in today's "techno-society"

[Mind_your_head]

:eyes:

My kids TEXT EVERYTHING to their friends. And then sometimes their friends are 'available' or 'not available' (hiding).

Someimes some REAL ISSUES come up! And I'm telling my kids, " JUST CALL THEM!"......but GD that's the biggest no-no on the planet!!!! SOOOOOOOOOO uncol.

AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

(I'm no explaining this correctly.) It wouldh've been such a PRIVELEGE to explain/hear a voice/inflection .....kids can DO THAT now, but yet *hide* behind *text*,

[Warpy]

1. At least it forces them to be literate

Well, sort of.

[Idealism]

3. o 4sho

[Jamastiene]

5. f34r my 133t 11tt3r4cy,

yeah...sort of. :P

[Greyhound]

27. 1 f34r n07h1n6! 4|| y0ur 7hum85 4r3 83|0n6 70 u5!

:rofl:

[Javaman]

58. Translation please for the over 40 crowd. LOL nt

[Greyhound]

62. LOL! Sorry, translation follows;

I fear nothing! All your thumbs are belong to us!
:D

"All your (fill in the blank) are belong to us" comes from a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_your_base_are_belong_to_us">famous mistranslation or "engrish" in a cheesy video game from the 80s. Combined with "leet" speak, it is nearly a different language.

[Poiuyt]

69. Good grief! It would take a bunch Navajo code talkers to translate that

[Posteritatis]

79. Heh; I parse it readily enough at times...

... that I'll see a string of it (usually in jest like that - kids don't actually type like that for the most part) and read it perfectly normally before realizing th4t 1'v3 b33n r34d1ng th1$ $0r+ 0f th1ng 1n$t34d. Then I'll realize what I just did and dramatically shake my fist at the sky shouting "Damn you, Net dialects!!"

When you're used to the way words are put together, you can make out some astonishing things with zero effort. Jsut as an eaplxme, I'm asuimsng taht msot of you out trehe paroblby fguerid out tihs setnence in aoubt the smae aomnut of tmie it took to raed the perivuos one, dpeitse the fcat that I rndaozimed lteetr oderr. (I'm totally serious - I'm willing to bet you found that vastly easier to read than the example in my first paragraph, and probably didn't need to think much or even at all to do so!)

While there is some 'different language' sort of stuff going on there, I'm not that convinced that it's a case of "OMG the English language is degenerating!" or whatnot. If you actually take awhile to dig into a lot of the dialects online they can be surprisingly consistent. Some of the stuff evolves that way for a reason - I've seen international pidgins develop a few times in communities/games/etc where there was previously a language barrier. I love watching that sort of thing happen.

The sort of writing you see on, say, Youtube comments is a bit more typical of Kids These Days-ese, though those are a pretty lobotomized example. For every person I talk to online who talks like that, though, there's a similar number who'd sooner be caught dead than abbreviate a word or skip punctuation in a text message or who IM like I'm typing right now. There's no real age connection between them either, at least in my experience.

[Deja Q]

66. It's not written dialect. It's a bowl of Alpha-Bits cereal.

[tblue37]

10. r u kding? nt

[NashVegas]

39. Quite the Opposite

The #1 reason I no longer text (I used to be on ICQ all the time) is that it was bleeding my vocabulary dry.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

59. I refuse to type a SMS or chat post in a "lesser" way than I do e-mail or web forums.

I'm weird like that. Hell, I even put the correct accents (Portuguese speaker here) on the letters! Punctuation, capitalization, and all.

[Codeine]

74. That's silly.

All but one of the people I text with use complete sentences and correct punctuation while texting at all times. I'd wager our texts are more literate than much of the garbled syntax I see here at DU occasionally. ;)

[Deja Q]

67. This does more to make such tikes literate:

Of course, the amount of sodium per serving will have 'em pickled by the time they're 20...

[Codeine]

75. "Tikes?"

Oh, sweet irony. :evilgrin:

[bertman]

2. It's a different world. Mind_your_head, so it doesn't explode.

[silverweb]

4. I prefer texting, too.

And I'm no "kid."

What's your problem with it?

[DemzRock]

6. Too much cell phone radiation? n/t

[Lorien]

7. I don't get the whole texting thing

I don't have it with my cell plan, so I get charged 0.20 for each text that comes in. I wish people would just call or email! One of my former coworkers was nearly killed when some idiotic kid train conductor was texting instead of watching what was happening and caused the train to crash in SoCal. She's still dealing with her injuries today. If the guy had been TALKING on the phone instead of texting it probably never would have happened (though he shouldn't have been doing either).

[silverweb]

8. No one should talk or text while driving.

Other than that, texting is extremely convenient and unobtrusive.

Personally, I hate talking on the phone most of the time and email is not an option when away from the internet.

Texting allows for nearly instantaneous communication while away from one's computer that is brief and succinct, with minimal disruption to other activities and other people nearby.

"There in 20 min" and "Home ok" are my two favorite text messages to receive from my kids. I'd keep a cell phone just to have that capability alone.

[backscatter712]

60. I've been using texting more myself.

I just upgraded my cell-phone plan to add texting. I guess that I text people instead of calling them as a courtesy - texts are generally less disruptive than voice calls, and generally, you're not using up people's minutes when you text them instead of calling them.

[LibDemAlways]

9. A while back I took my then thirteen-year-old

daughter and two of her friends out to a restaurant for dinner. It was one of the strangest restaurant experiences I've ever had. While I sat there trying to get them to converse, they all sat silently texting each other. Go figure.

[Berry Cool]

11. Sounds to me like that was just another teenage attempt to annoy an adult.

They had to do it other ways in the past. This is just one of the current methods.

They also like to do that kind of stuff just because it's ridiculous, but they can do it. Teenagers love to do ridiculous things just because they can.

[Seldona]

17. Adults do it as well.

I have a couple good friends that will come over and spend over half their time here talking or texting. It is beyond rude imo.

I've also seen people try to text while freaking driving. That one I did not let pass. Want to kill yourself texting the girlfriend you saw 10 minutes ago? Go for it. Me? I choose life.

I think cars should come with a jammer of some sort that only allows emergencies through.

[LibDemAlways]

43. As of Jan 1 it's illegal to text while driving in CA. Hand

held cell phone use has been banned in the car since last July. (For some strange reason the lawmakers had failed to include texting and had to rectify that retroactively). I still see people jabbering away all the time with phone to ear figuring they won't be caught.

I think cell phone use is partly a generational thing. I am from the home phone/pay phone era and have no desire to be reached everywhere I am in the first place. Mine is for emergencies and keeping track of my teenager only.

[Seldona]

48. That's good. That is strange they missed it the first time around.

nt

[Skittles]

21. that is just plain f***ing rude

unacceptable

[Greyhound]

26. Agreed. One of my favorite restaurants in LA has (had?) a cell-device check at the door.

Anyone using one in the restaurant was asked to either check it or leave, no exceptions.

[Hippo_Tron]

35. You should've told them to put their phones away

And I say that as someone who is of the internet generation and does text quite frequently. If I get a text message during a family dinner or out at a restaurant I text them back and tell them that I'm eating and I will talk to them later. If I get a call and I'm at a table with more than one other person I excuse myself from the table, answer the phone, and tell them that I'm eating and I will call them later. If I'm at a table with just one other person then I'll answer the phone at the table and tell them that I'm eating and that I will call them later.

I think that there are times when it's okay to be wrapped up in your text messages and not make conversation with those around you (at a really boring party, for example). But the dinner table is not an appropriate place for such things.

[LibDemAlways]

44. It's pretty much how these kids communicate with each other.

My daughter uses very few of the talking minutes on her phone, but she has a hard time staying within the 400 texts per month she's allowed.

At the restaurant I did finally make them turn the phones off, but they just don't see themselves as rude. As my daughter explained, "That's just how we talk to each other, sort of like when you are on DU."

[backscatter712]

61. I do things like that when I'm deliberately trying to get under someone's skin.

It's when I'm teasing someone or trash-talking or something like that.

But I do it in good fun. :evilgrin:

[Starry Messenger]

12. Look on the bright side.

A generation of people with near-bionic super-thumbs can't be all bad. :D

[tabbycat31]

13. I am the same way

I *HATE* talking on the phone (at the bottom of my perfered methods of communication and I can't multitask when on the phone) so I would MUCH rather text than talk.

I LOVE texting, but I don't understand the text messaging language. I perfer just plain English instead.

[OxQQme]

14. Info here:

http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp

[madokie]

15. I'm sixty years old and I use text messaging all the time

I prefer it most times too. If its urgent a visit or call is in order but most times anything I need to know or learn is not just a right now deal so I text. maybe I'm just too old fashioned to think that I must interrupt someone else at my whelm rather than at their leasure.

[Mind_your_head]

16. A 14 year old is ALWAYS at 'leisure' (unless they are at school)

who are you kidding. (and a sixty year old probably is too!) :eyes:

[madokie]

46. I'd be happy to text you and fill you in on it a little if need be

roll your eyes at me :rofl:

[Liberal_in_LA]

80. I text often also.

[varkam]

18. I text, too - I consider it more polite than a phone call.

JMO

[Greyhound]

19. It is another step in the de-humanization process. Just look at the pro-texting

replies on this thread;

"I hate talking on the phone"
"I can't multi-task while talking on the phone"
"They sat at the table texting each other"

It removes us from the realm of real people to each other, we are just a message, an interruption, an annoyance, a bother that needs to be disposed of as quickly as possible so that we can get back to what we want to do.

Rather like a message board. (where's that irony smiley when you need it?)

[varkam]

22. I disagree.

I consider it more polite to text when I can, or to text ahead of making a phone call in case the other person can't talk at the moment.

[Greyhound]

23. So, if I understand what you said, if you wanted to speak with me,

you would text me beforehand, in case you were a bother that I'd rather not deal with now?

ETA: and you would expect the same in return?

[varkam]

24. I wouldn't put it in those terms...

but say if you're in a meeting and didn't turn your ringer off - a text message won't make as much a commotion as will a ringing phone will. You can say it's because I don't respect my fellow man if you want to, and I don't suppose there's much that I can say that will change your mind since you seem dead-set on your belief that texting is some sort of a degeneration of morals and values.

And what do I expect in return? Nothing, really.

[Greyhound]

25. No, just the creeping devaluation of those we don't know.

If I'm in a meeting and didn't turn off my phone, that is my fault.

We are just more and more insulated from others with each passing year, and as a result, tend to forget that real people are on the other end.

Here on DU, we read things every day that the authors would (likely) never say if we were having the same discussion over dinner.

I just see texting as another link in a very long chain that is binding us to this untenable society. The telephone call is less personal than a note, texting is less personal than a call.

I'm not saying it should not exist, simply that it has an effect on how we view and deal, or rather fail to deal, with each other.

[varkam]

28. .

Even if it is your fault that you didn't turn off your phone, I can still spare you embarrassment and inconvenience if I send a text instead of a phone call. In addition, I also consider it impolite to talk on my cell phone in a confined public place (such as in an elevator or something), and so texting gets around that. I don't see the point in punishing people for absent-mindedness if they forget to turn off their phone.

I can't speak for others, but one of the reasons I do it is precisely because I know that there is another person on the other end.

And with respect to DU, I think that is more of an effect of pseduo-anonymity than the medium of communication. I'd wager that, if instead of screen names we had our real names along with our addresses and phone numbers we would probably be a lot more respectful to one another. Sure, there are lots of things that I would say on DU that I wouldn't say to someone face to face. There are also lots of things on DU I wouldn't say to someone in a text message, either.

I also think that the alternative argument - that such forms of communication can actually bring us closer. For instance, back before the telephone it was certainly difficult (if not impossible) to keep in touch with people on the other side of the planet. With the advent of the telephone (and certainly the computer and cell phones) keeping in touch with people is exceedingly easy.

[MsTryska]

70. I actually disagree with this....

i think it actually keeps people more connected.

My SO and I are long-distance. it seems like our entire relationship is primarily texting/IM.

We both have very busy lives on opposing shifts, he doesn't have constant access to a PC, and I can't talk on the phone at my job, so phone calls are difficult to coordinate, and email is not a viable mode of communication.

if it wasn't for texting and IM we prolly would have disconnected a long time back - but as it stands - any time we are thinking of each other, a message will connect us in a way that's unobtrusive, and instantaneous.

I get lovenotes on a regular basis. not to mention pictures and videos of things we see or are working on at that very moment.

Our cells keep us connected in ways that wouldn't have been possible in any other age.

[Odin2005]

50. Oh baloney. "Dehumanization?" WTF?

Sounds like typical condescending BS toward the younger generation's use of new things by the older generation.

*YAWN*

[Greyhound]

53. Nothing to do with generations, sorry to disappoint you. n/t

[Odin2005]

54. No, it has every thong to do with generations.

Older generations complaining that what the younger generation is doing is going to cause the downfall of society is as old as humanity itself. Only now days it has crap sociology and crap psychology to make it sound legitimate.

[Lilith Velkor]

65. Awesome typo

Reminds me of my refusal to use butt floss.

[Greyhound]

77. I knew that g-strings were butt floss, but I thought thongs were different.

Either way, I don't blame you. An ex got me a guy string and I could only stand to wear it once, for about 2 minutes.

[Lilith Velkor]

81. Not really

The young lady on the right is wearing a G-string, the young lady on the left, a thong.

I prefer the minimalist method of preventing panty lines, myself.

[Posteritatis]

78. I'm kinda wondering what I'm going to be jerking my knee at in 20-30 years

I'd like to think I won't be, but I'm sure the Crowbar of Stark Reality's gonna waylay me on that front. I really am kind of wondering what'll show up to whip a nice head of froth on my Rightous Indignation by then, though...

"Come on, kids, turn off the mindlink at the table!"

[treestar]

64. True but then there is so much more opportunity for contact.

With cell phones, people can make many more calls. Before cell phones, you couldn't call people from the car or from a restaurant (without looking for a pay phone, at least). You had to be home or at the office or at a pay phone. Now the phone is with people all day, so they can make umpteen more times as many calls, and thus we get more calls, and it can get to the point where you couldn't do anything if you can't cut off the input at least a little here and there.

When I first worked, we had the mail and the phone messages. Now we've got those, and the faxes, and the emails, and the text messages, and several times as many phone calls.

[Duer 157099]

20. I don't get it either

I've never texted, wouldn't know how. Unless email counts. Which, after all, is text, so I guess it is texting.

I don't get the appeal. My son and his friends (14) don't seem to text, far as I can tell. They all gather on xbox live to talk, or use cell phones.

Maybe he texts and I'm just totally clueless?

I think I'll continue to avoid it.

[Muttocracy]

71. I don't get the advantage over email and cell phones - except to "talk" in class

One reason I no longer wanted to teach - students spending the hour texting and thinking I didn't know it, and then wondering why they were flunking.

[fishbulb703]

29. the art of illocution is dying, and im for it

i just took an aesthetics class, that shit was too hard! locution is enough. in fact conveying meaning through text rather than inflection may even stimulate the mind to be more creative, no?

[NashVegas]

40. A World Full of Actors Says Otherwise

Because you're confining communication to one venue (text) you are removing the number of ways the message can be received.

You can't remove an art from play and "oh, but I'm being more creative."

[tammywammy]

30. I text

I find it easier and more convenient than calling. Most of the time it's a fluff conversation between a friend and I.

Any "real" issue is done with a phone call, but in reality most things just aren't that important.

[KitSileya]

31. It's rather scary how dependent they are on the ability to text.

It's become such a part of their youth culture, anyone who does not text is left out. It'll be interesting to see how the financial crisis will affect this cultural trait - when parents no longer can pay the high phone bills for their kids' cell phones.

However, it's not only the kids who are dependent on cell phones. Adults are as well. I have noticed that when I am with a group of friends, they will all put their phones on soundless and then put it on the table in front of them. So far, so good. But then, every 15 minutes or so, they will pick it up to check whether they've gotten a text message, completely disregarding the fact that if they had gotten one, their cell display would light up. Talk about feeling like your listeners aren't interested in what you're saying! it goes without saying that if they get a message, they must read it immediately, putting their live conversation on a hold.

[REP]

32. I prefer txting to calling for most purposes

No need to call to ask "need anything from the store?" when a txt will get me an answer and not interrupt my husband if he's in a meeting or focused on something. "Meet at 5 for coffee?" gets the job done to meet a friend for a real conversation.

Oh, and I'm old (44). And my hands are FUBAR, making holding a cell phone to talk in unpleasant.

[Edweird]

33. Eh, griping about being uncool just makes you *more* uncool.

PS, you forgot to add "and stay the hell off my lawn!"

[Marr]

34. I hate texting. It's way more bothersome than just making a phone call.

You have to type/send/await a reply... ugh. Annoying. I prefer to use my phone as a phone.

Now, having said that, I feel I should outline what a phone call is-- or rather what it is not. A phone call is not a free-form discussion of the world's problems. It does not contain casual speculation on personal matters. A phone call does not contain a movie review, or a product comparison of leading herpes medications.

A phone call is a brief exchange of important information, like so:

"Hey Bob."

"Hey Joe."

"Want to grab a beer?"

"Sure. How about 6PM at the usual spot?"

"Sounds good. Good-bye."

"Later."

[LibDemAlways]

45. I think the worst aspect of cell phones is that they

force people in public places to be privy to what should be the private conversations of others. One time in a crowded hotel elevator a guy was on the phone with his significant other and the conversation was so steamy that when we got off in the lobby one man remarked, "Jeez, I think I need a cold shower."

I have no interest in strangers' personal business and hate when they feel the necessity to make me part of it. I'm with you. If you must talk on a cell phone, keep it short and to the point and be mindful of your captive audience.

[surrealAmerican]

57. That is the main reason I consider texting "more polite" than ...

... cell phone conversation. It keeps people from inflicting their conversations on "innocent bystanders".

[Hippo_Tron]

36. Texting is easier if you "just want to talk"

The reason is that if you're not bound to come up with anything to say on the spot since texting isn't instant. However, if you do have something serious to talk about it's ridiculously irritating and impersonal. Instant messaging is the best of both worlds but I say that with a caveat. People can seem like entirely different people over instant messenger than they are in person because you lose the voice tone and physical communication.

[sweetpotato]

37. Basal Joint arthritis

I can no longer play video games, let alone use a blackberry or some such, due to the development of basal joint arthritis in my right hand. I'm going to have to have my thumb joint replaced.

It is likely due to overuse. I do a lot of hand sewing, typing and whatnot.

It is particularly painful and some days, I cannot use my right thumb at all.

I think all the texting and gaming will lead to more of this type of arthritis. I guess its a good time to be a hand surgeon.

[NashVegas]

38. We Are Available to Everyone, and to No One

I have sympathy for you; sometimes I feel as if I've forgotten how to handle a phone call, myself.

But the joy of IM is that you can quickly contact dozens of people for exchanging information; you can also have in depth conversations, but you've got to go on 'invisible' to keep distractions away.

Kids today aren't hiding behind text anymore than their parents are hiding behind Monday Night Football and Grey's Anatomy.

[ThatsMyBarack]

41. I've NEVER texted, and prolly never will.

I'm stuck in the 20th century! ;)

[InvisibleTouch]

42. Personally, I hate the phone.

I don't have texting available on my bare-bones cell phone, but I do most of my communication by e-mail, so I totally understand. Text communication is so much less stressful for me, especially if it concerns a delicate or emotionally-charged issue. Having to resort to a phone call, to me, means some time-limited crisis. So, don't be too hard on the kids ... everyone has their preferred communications style!

[johnaries]

47. I live on 20 acres of woods. The other day a young co-worker came to visit

she heard the wind chimes on the front deck and looking around started to see what electronic device was making the noise.
*shakes head*

[Muttocracy]

72. !!!

[Odin2005]

49. Oh good grief. Condescending "kids these days" BS is annoying.

Hearing older people moan, whine, and bitch about how we younger folks use technology makes me want to :banghead: .

[cobalt1999]

63. It's been going on forever though.

Parents in the 30's where probably bitching that kids just call and don't bother to write anymore. Now, it's the kids write and don't call anymore.

[rug]

51. I enjoyed your post.

[anigbrowl]

52. Suits me. I don't like talking on the phone

I don't actually text much, but I prefer a text (or an email) to a phone call. A phone call is like 'this is so important I'm going to interrupt what you're doing and demand you talk to me'. Generally, I prefer not to talk to most people on the phone.

[Bill McBlueState]

55. This is an ironic thread

for a message board.

"I think I'll type a post where I complain about communicating by typing."

[LanternWaste]

56. When I was a child I spake as a child...

"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things"



I try to cut quite a bit of empathic slack for the younger crowd-- but it's difficult sometimes. :)

[Gwendolyn]

68. Texting does have its upsides...

as someone said, I'd rather people text than have to listen to their shouted soap opera convos while trying to enjoy a restaurant meal or get through the grocery check out. I don't like people listening in on my conversations either and am sure they sound soap opera-ish to others as well.

My neighbor is deaf and texting makes life a lot easier for her.

It's a great way to get out of conversations with longwinded people but still get points for "checking in." :D

My hubs and I send little romantic messages to each other occasionally during the work day when we can't exactly talk, and it always brings a smile and skipped heartbeat. :)

[Codeine]

73. I'm no kid

and I text all the time. It allows me to participate in several discussions at once - answering at my leisure - and perform regular tasks at the same time. It's also nice because I simply cannot stand talking on a phone; texting forces people to get to the point.

Last month alone more than ten thousand texts went in or out of my phone.

[Mind_your_head]

76. Remember when the shrub invaded Iraq?

and 80% of the people said, "I'm gonna trust my president"?

They were wrong.

Same thing/idea is applicable here as well.

Peace,
M_Y_H :hi: