T.Hernandez (Edison)-Texting:False Reality Over Factual Reality

Texting for some peope can be very expensive, but it’s understandable why people find it useful. Texting allows people to “say” things when they can’t talk- while the advantages of this are obvious we are saying things we probably shouldn’t say, to people we probably shouldn’t say it to and at the time should probably be doing something else. People-teens in particular- are even texting and driving, giving rise to car accidents because of this distarction. (Oprah Winfrey has been raising awareness on thisissue through her “No Phone Zone” campaign.

NBC News has reported that about 1/3 of teens send more than 100 texts per day-and this is the primaryway that teens communicate (via phone calls, texting, emails, personally, and social networking). Why is texting so popular? Is it because it makes it seem as though we are really communicating even when we are not? A text message can give false reality or an illusion that we’re communicating even when we are not.

I personally wonder why someone would send me a text rather than calling or even visiting. Visits may not be as convenient or sometimes even appropriate as other ways of communication, but given that texts are inconvenient to type (for some people) and that there is only a percentage limit to which you can type, a text message provides a limited form of communication. It kind of makes sense when you think that texts are technically a “short message service” and not full conversation. Among other means of communication, texts are fine but if used to often it gives the appearance of communication and by nature unable to support a essential conversation. Texts can’t convey emotion to the extent that an audible voice can which is why sensitive conversations are not suitable for this device. When you think about how often people are texting while attending to other tasks, how engaged can they really be with the person they are texting or with the people around them?

This entry was posted on 28. July 2010 at 19:02 and is filed under Introduction to Sociology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.