Text Messages

Over the years communications have changed drastically. With each new invention the way we interact with each other is altered. Communications have travelled by oral speech, print, radio and television broadcasts, Internet blogs, and now with cell phones we have mobile communication wherever we go. But even the way use the cell phone to communicate has changed in the past decade. Originally parents used to worry about their teenagers going over their minutes each month as they would talk endlessly with their friends on the phone. But now there is another feature that has not only parents worried about the monthly bill, but society as a whole concerned: texting. Text messaging is a convenient and practical way to send messages on cell phones in a "text." Like any medium of communication, texting has it's pros and cons. Texting can be useful to send short messages of information. For instance if I need a phone number or address it is easier to have someone send me a text so I don't have to write it down. Also texting is convenient when I need to communicate with someone but I'm not in a setting where I can have a conversation. However, I do think that in the past couple of years the use of texting has gone out of control. People don't use texting only when it is necessary, they have made it a way of life.
There are many features of texting that have negatively impacted the way people interact and behave in society. The use of "text talk" such as LOL, OMG, TTYL, and many more have infiltrated both oral and written speech. Like the article from USA Today stated people will say "LOL" in a conversation instead of actually laughing out loud which is what the acronym implies. This youtube video shows an entire conversation that a child has with her mother in complete text-terminology.



This abbreviated form of communication makes conversation seem superficial and insincere. Also, it is speculated that the generation who have grown up with text messaging may be less equipped with the professional skills necessary in college and future careers. People need to know how to network and converse through speech and not through text. When a boss asks an employee for an idea in the workplace, he or she can't say "BRB" and think about it before they respond. I think that texting has been a weakness in our communicating skills, and those who rely to heavily upon it, may have more difficulty in professions later in life.