markjmd

iTrader: (11)

I'm firmly of the opinion that text-messaging should be reserved for saying quick hellos or conveying basic but not life-alteringly important information. Certain friends and relatives though seem intent on trying to drag me into prolonged exchanges of texts, sometimes about quite serious and important stuff. I'll reach a point where I'm very tempted to reply with a "if it's that important, pick up the phone and ****ing call me", but usually end up calling them instead to put an end to the seemingly interminable marathon of thumb-typing. Does anyone else feel the same way?

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

To answer the thread title: Yes.


Next question.....?

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

Totally agree. We will end up like the people on the space ship in Wall-e.
People are lossing the ability to interact and society is a great reflection.

PaulC72

wht u sayin?

madscoob

iTrader: (3)

the most fun you an have with txting idiots is to reply with a BLANK screen
eventually they can't help themselves and ash why are you sending a blank screen
you then rely cos i hav nuting to say to u
the sister inlaw went mental all i could do was laugh

dpb

texting be dead few years I reckon

Turbohot

Yes, Apple will have made a new mind reading gadget by then. No need to wear your thumbs and fingers out, just think what you want to convey to the other party. The ThinkApple will suss and the thought will show up on the screen of the other party. Problem is, what if you're thinking something they you don't want to disclose to the other party? Well, to trouble shoot that, Apple will develop a filter technology through which we'll have total control upon what we disclose and what we keep to ourselves, in a secret Mindcloud account. Mind you, the day our private Mindcloud account gets hacked by some hacker, it will be a very difficult day for us.

I hope a mind reading gadget never gets made.

Turbohot

To be honest I'd rather have a blank screen than a text, with this ^ sort of post-modern English.

dpb

ill stick WhatsApp in the meantime

Turbohot

That's another PITA unless you're talking to someone interesting, of course.

Tell me WTH do all our phone contacts get this automatic message from our WhatsApp: 'Hey! Look at me! Im so f&&King great that I'm using WhatsApp!'? It happens when you first download WhatsApp and it automatically publicises you as one hopeless attention seeker to all your contacts.Honestly. No need for that.

markjmd

iTrader: (11)

You might be onto something there. The way I see it, texting is the perfect form of communication for people who are trying to hide what they're really thinking (on top of all the other things that are wrong with it). As Jack is prone to saying, AppleThink would be a real game-changer.

Turbohot

Yes, it will certainly change the game.

I think any form of interactive writing/typing or even speaking can potentially mask what one is really thinking. With texting being a brief mode of communication, I get that the less words there are, less one will exhibit.

On contrary I like the idea of that blank text that Madscoob proposes. I think silence without any words whatsoever can be very powerful. That's why whenever I receive some bubbles within a wordless bubble during some text exchange, I guess that the other party is smoking a pipe while communicating to me via texts.

Torquemada

text is too easy to create misunderstandings through. Much better to speak directly, if it is something important.

Even if it's trivial, one persons choice of words can be totally misread by another. Like this:

CharlesTuna

iTrader: (2)

Already been made but not by Apple
http://emotiv.com

Texting should be for short communication not conversation. It's so invasive people text and expect a reply straight away, night or day does my head in.

dpb

Reckon ill suffer / enjoy some mixed messages over donning that headgear.

GWJ

I like WhatsApp, great for sharing info. Daughter has setup a group so both the wife and myself can get the same granddaughter photos and videos at the same time. I have other groups setup for my business which again shares info for coordinating meetings and events, great bit of kit when you have a use for it.
BTW, you can change the welcome message

hodgy0_2

whatsapp - amazing

I have just has a whatsapp conversation with my 18 yr old daughter (voice then text)

I am on the train to London - she is in Singapore

JackClark

Apple have reinvented Texting

http://time.com/4367056/apple-imessa...ios-10-iphone/

dpb

Most of that seems to be playing catch up Jack ?

Rusti

iTrader: (4)

Yes definitely, all too often the tone and urgency of text message can be misinterpreted, this goes for email and posts on here to honest.

JackClark

That's a new one.

Turbohot

Oh, really???

I must research it and find a way to secretly plant it in my contacts for others to be more transparent to me. Oh, the irony etc. etc. etc., I know.

'Shoulds' and 'expectations' are also contradictory to each other. I do agree that texting should be short, but wen ppl try 2 make it short, day get sl8ed for dat 2. 1 can't win.


Yes...I know you can change the welcome message but there shouldn't be one sent out without me wanting to send, anyway. I now have 'busy' on it all the time. I only need it for my family to have some chit chat with them- sometimes.

....and yes. It's free (.69p a year), connects internationally and very easy to send pics, voice messages etc. My kid has got rid of it due to the overload of expectations from her thousands of contacts to respond to them at her immediate inconvenience. I talk to her on FB privately, but I absolutely hate hanging out there; checking her messages. I so dislike FB format. It's too public for me. Anyway, daughter has just messaged me with a picture of an elephant's trunk on her head and informed that Laddakh and Kashmir are sick as...!! I'm expected to live in a boat with her in Kashmir, one day.

I talk to my India family on WhatsApp but some of them overload me with some inane memes as well. When I don't respond or comment, they go funny with me. Again, I'm such a loser that I just can't f&&king win!

fat-thomas

iTrader: (4)

texting about serious conversations is the same as morons who are intent on attention seeking on facebook with posts like "i hate him whys he done that?" then get people asking what he has done etc and get a reply "i dont want to discuss it on here"

then dont post it you attention seeking fcuktard!!!!


I deleted my fb account some years ago and it is the best thing you can do.i do like whats app though its a much better way of keeping in touch with friends as i am in a few groups and it filters out all the attention seeking fb crap

Turbohot

Lol I've read things like that, there. There's one idiot who trolled almost every mother he knew on Internet; on Mother's Day. Must be effing desperate! He often does the sort of thing you mention; just to seek attention. Pathetic soul. Always trying his luck. God help him.

fat-thomas

iTrader: (4)

every argument on jeremy kyle involves facebook. these idiots are its core users.

i love whats app its a much better way to stay in touch with real friends and you dont need to see pictures of their lunch

Turbohot

Yes, that's right. WhatsApp is not a public space. You can make your own groups with likeminded peeps if you fancy sharing life events, thoughts and ideas with one another.

Tbh, I've posted my occasional lunch pics to my India family on WhatsApp. You know e.g. carrots, beetroot and salmon etc. I was trying to establish how healthily I eat and so should they. But I get that the ones who impose unnecessary nonsense or 'small talk' pics or even dialogues on others are just empty headed time wasters.

Tony Harrington

iTrader: (8)

I agree with the op.

I made a decision to leave FB & Twitter to simplify life and it's working. Never missed them at all.

fat-thomas

iTrader: (4)

i still use twitter sort of.
i never tweet but i find it great to follow sports etc.

tarmac terror

iTrader: (2)

I have three friends that I have known since college, about 25 years - we use a closed group on what's app to keep in touch. One in Sydney, one in London and two in NI. Its great for keeping in touch.


I have a rule with texting if it requires me to send more than three messages, a phone call is easier.

Turbohot

Paying particular attention to the OP's question i.e. if texting devalue the seriousness of a conversation, I think it's to do with what we expect texting to be. We want it to be a method to send small, not so serious messages. But say this was the only method to communicate with someone, then I suppose you'd think of it differently. For example, if they physically cannot speak, if they have bad voice or if they don't have enough credit to call you etc. Then I suppose you'd engage in a series of texts with them, provided your thumbs are in working order. For my iPhone and iPad texting, I usually use my middle finger from my left hand (I'm a leftie) so thumbs aren't an issue. Such middle finger use is not a pre-meditated one with the intention to offend the other party.

Sometimes text conversation is a better solution if you find someone's voice not exactly bad but very annoying e.g. Sally Webster's from Corrie or Danny Dyer's. In such case, the voice and the tone can take away the seriousness whereas their texted words can actually have some impact. I have a Scottish mate in Glasgow who I prefer to text me. Her voice is fine, but I simply cannot understand her fully when she talks to me on phone.

I sometimes receive very serious professional information by texts. I take such texts very seriously, too. I must say that such text exchange doesn't go on and on and we usually settle for a face-to-face meeting.


About the long-winded text insisting texters/messagers, I agree that they're PITA to deal with. 'Just call me' should be a C&P response to them on a repeat. I recently had to do this with someone on WhatsApp. I think some people marathon text sneakily from their workplace etc. because if they rang you, their work colleagues or other companions would hear them chatting sh7t to you on phone and then they'd get busted. Some do this text bombarding because it allows them to watch TV while they're texting you without having to use their speech ability, which could interfere with the TV sound.

To conclude, imo the ones that are capable to call must call; instead of long-winding some serious stuff on texts. It is tiring and even annoying to text and receive them like a bombardment, I agree. But I don't think that text-after-text makes the matter any less serious; provided the matter is serious.