I hate texting for the below reasons. This opinion is, admittedly, out of the main stream. I thought I’d document and explain.
Everyone I communicate with has email to their phone. Email has many more capabilities. Most people lose their text archive when they get a new phone.
I’m sitting here next to my computer happily typing away and the cell phone over by the door makes this unfamiliar noise that means I have a text message. Texting’s the only medium that one can’t use on a full keyboard.
An exception is that some workplaces use Chatter, Skype, or Yammer successfully. Those are usually answerable multi-modally by computer or phone..
Texting got popular when people were too cheap to pay for minutes to talk and I think a lot of this continued because early iPhone weren’t very good for voice. Now, minutes are cheap and most phones actually work as phones.
Texting is supposedly less intrusive than phoning. But a call goes to VM and you answer when you choose. One is expected to promptly answer a text. If the sender or receiver happens to be in a different country you pay more.
Can’t we just simplify. Between phone, email, Facebook chat, Skype, Skype chat, and Twitter, there are plenty of ways to reach me. And call me “old fashioned”, but I think spelling and punctuation actually contribute to understanding. Half the texts I get make no sense.
I don’t have a texting plan, and I don’t really want one. Each text sent and each received cost me the ridiculous sum 20 cents. That usually costs me less than the ridiculous sum of $5 for the min 200 texts a month plan. Texts cost the carrier almost nothing.
After discussing this with many people, my conclusion is that people don’t want to look at their email while socializing. They just don’t want to potentially see their boss asking for something when out on the town. That may be the biggest reason people use other methods of communication.
Now, Windows 10 gets my texts and I can answer with a full keyboard!
I’m usually a retro-grouch about new things, but in this case I’ll argue texting is far, far less of a PITA than email.
Electronic mail takes steps. Several steps, in fact, that I just don’t need to bother with for a small amount of exchange.
Do you have an ETA, for example. I’m going to do a little unplanned running around, and trying not to impact a visit. So, I know immediately that the text went through, and don’t need to hope the email sent. Likewise, an answer comes in directly. No need to open email, then open which account, then open your recent reply, or check ‘junk’ if you’re not in the phonebook.
ETA, I ask. 1100, you answer. Poof. Seconds, not minutes.
Lord help you if you want to send a photo. Just saying. 😉
Now, people who use Apple’s mail software seem to have problems with email, because all their email lands one folder. Because of that, they get too many notifications and TURN THEM OFF. Ack!! Microsoft and Google mail software separates your important email from your newsletters, receipts and the like which only need attention daily. Apple people, you’ll be surprised to find how infrequently your device bings at you when you don’t get binged every time a company sends an ad. (There may be a way to get Apple’s mail software to do this, but no one I know uses it.)