As a genuine certified Old, I’ve lived the vast majority of my life without the ability to text, and instead have had to use my own voice to talk to other people over the phone. Here’s a secret: I hate talking on the goddamn phone.
Part of that has to do with having a day job that requires me to be on the phone for the majority of the day, but I much prefer texting to talking because I can make the choices of what I’m going to say and when, on my own time. The phone is a lot of pressure, people. And now that I have my parents texting, too, I may never have to have another off-the-clock phone conversation again.
Are you a talker or a texter?
5 replies on “Lunchtime Poll: Text or Talk?”
I added text messaging service to my phone plan back in October. It’s okay; I’m still getting used to it. I have a flip phone with T9 typing, so I frequently encounter “i meant to type a certain word, but it has the same button sequence as a completely different word” scenarios. Texting is great for situations where it’s better to not talk, such as a doctor’s waiting room or a crowded cafeteria. But I’m quite old-fashioned when it comes to technology (I’m writing this on my 2009 Windows XP netbook and I use an iPod Touch as a substitute for a smart phone), so I prefer to talk.
However, I would rather e-mail or use a messaging program than talk on the phone in most cases.
I’d rather walk all the way to the docctor’s/a friend’s etc. than call them. I hate talking on the phone. Waaahhh. So yep, texting, every time.
Texting please! I only call my mom, or if I have to call companies or something. Calling really is too much pressure.
I’ll text about anything and everything. If the conversation requires a lot more words, then it’s gchat.
I only call when I’m impatient/in a hurry. Somehow I feel like a littering of texts is more obnoxious than one call.
I enjoy texting for nonsense.
It depends on the conversation. For short things (Are we still getting lunch at 1? Did you send in the paperwork?), texting is fine. It’s also good for lighter conversation with friends. But for something that requires a bit more discussion/legwork, I’m a big fan of the telephone call. All too often I have sent text messages and email that get stuck in read but not responded to limbo.
This kind of holds for work discussions as well- we use radios to communicate on the sales floor, and even though I could get into a pressing question or discussion on the headset, I much prefer to just beep in on there to see where the person I need is, and then go find them to talk in person.