I text everyday. It has become a useful way to communicate for me, and I really like the convenience. However, I have some problems with it.
Last year, I wrote a massive missive (nice, eh?) about texting – here is the link: “Devolution By Thumb.” At the time, I wrote down all that I thought I needed to say, but since then, specifically since 5:30 this morning, there are a couple of things I would like to add to my original discussion.
#1
Yes, the phone started going off at 5:30am. Why so early? Here’s why:
Some people use their ability to text as a sort of “to-do list.” When they have a question, or idea, or something they need to find out, they fire off a text, rather than save it for a better time. And by “time,” I mean whenever the thought strikes them. The problem is, the phone does not know if it is important or not, and demands that we look to see. (And no, I’m not just ‘turning my phone off’ because sometimes those texts ARE important.)
If that happens occasionally, I don’t mind a bit. But when it becomes a regular thing, I’m thinking. “Hey, how about collecting 5 of those thoughts and send me an email, or at least consolidate them into ONE text? Not at 5:30am.”
ESPECIALLY if this is something that is not important, or if we will be seeing each other at work in a couple hours, or at a presidency meeting on Tuesday, or meeting for lunch later today.
#2
Texting has the amazing ability to turn a 2 minute conversation into a 45 minute test of patience. (If you have teenagers, you know exactly what I mean.)
We live in a society where the ability to focus is becoming a lost art. I can’t see how conducting a conversation, interspersed with 5 minute gaps, does anything but aggravate this cultural decline. You know it’s bad when you get a response to a text from so long ago that you have to read back to remember what you were talking about.
LIke I said, I text all the time – texting has saved my life on many occasions. (If you consider getting the grocery list from your EC via text a lifesaving event.)
So, of now, I will continue to text, but I am going to try harder to not text on a whim – if it can wait for a consolidated phone call, or a meeting, I gonna try to wait.
I will also try to not next at inopportune moments for the receiver. Just because a thought pops into my head, doesn’t mean the receiver needs to know about it during work, or church, or FHE, etc.
Especially when they should be asleep…
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I set my phone to “do not disturb” from 10:00 pm to 8:00 am. It will only beep or ring if calls or texts are from people in my favorites. The only people in my favorites are family and a very few close friends. Love that setting!
Your work with different people in different time zone does leave you in a unique quandary. I totally agree with most of the respondents here, my phone goes to silent at night. Anyone who really needs me can call the house. I’m quite alright with that 3am text, because you very well may forget to tell me by morning. I will make a mental note, however, NOT to text YOU at 5am. My phone allows different ring tones for different people, but nothing connected to urgency. 🙂 I know the iPhone, at one point, was advertising a sleep feature where most alerts would be silent, but you could pick a select few whose texts/calls would always go through. On a somewhat separate, but related note, my life is better since I disabled almost all notifications on my phone. I don’t see Facebook notifications or emails until I choose to go check Facebook and/or email. I’m still fairly distracted but no longer extremely so. (Note that I only have personal email, not an account that a business is run out of.)
I miss those days when I could send emails out at MY convenient time of day to do so…..between the hours of 2:00 – 3:00 am. Then those who received them could open them at THEIR convenient time later in the day and respond. No disrupting anyone’s lives.
Now with everyone having email on their phones and their phones going off every time a message comes in {and never turning their phones off even for bed}…….well….let’s just say I am pretty frustrated with everyone telling me what time is a better time for ME to send THEM an email…….or contact them by phone. The list is too long now to keep it all straight. Ugh. What a conundrum!
Sleep is precious, especially to the elderly and those who, once awakened, have no chance of getting back to sleep. I turn my cell phone off when I go to bed.
I just take a picture of stuff and text it. Can’t be bothered with all those letters…words…
We know, we know. You are a very visual person.
If it’s urgent enough to text me at 5am, it’s urgent enough to CALL MY HOUSE PHONE at 5am. And if said person does not know my home number, then I sincerely doubt it’s that urgent. I do NOT sleep anywhere near my cell phone, hence I could care less if it goes off while I’m sleeping for a text, call, facebook alert, email, etc. Normally I think you “nail it”, MMM, but I think you are off on #1 of this one. #2 however…. Amen, my brutha! I can’t stand long and multiple texts that replace a conversation. And I have been known to just call said person in the middle…
Ah, but I DID nail #1. I have business dealings with people in different time zones, and need to be reachable – but I’m not about to give them my home phone.
I used to follow a coupe of blogs but decided to unsubscribe because it seemed they always submitted their posts very late at night, which would beep on my phone. I couldn’t ask my phone to NOT beep since it doesn’t know the difference between a text from a loved one vs. a blog post, so now I just pop in on those blogs from time to time. I understand the best time to gather one’s thoughts is when the house is quiet and still, however, maybe it would be best to post during acceptable hours. Not pointing fingers MMM, just sayin. Carry on 🙂
Hmmm . . .I am not a big texter. I figure texts are for things that are not very time sensitive. If I need an answer now I will pick up the phone and call. I don’t normally ignore phone calls but texts I ignore until it is convenient for me to check my phone. I thought that one of the main purposes of texting is to get information across when it would be inappropriate to call, such as during FHE when I assume they have either left their phone in the other room or they certainly wouldn’t pull their phone out to check a text. I have always assumed that if people don’t want to receive messages they would’t check their phone. I’ve never sent a text at 5:30 (because I am not up that early), but after reading this maybe I should start treating sending a text like I would a phone call. But then that makes me think, what is the point of texting?
I use texting all the time. Example: “Sorry honey, but I couldn’t answer your call because I am on hold with tech support. Will call you as soon as I can.” or, “Son, you realize than Mutual starts in 15 minutes, right?”
To me, a phone ringing, or a text tone both mean the same thing: That someone next to get a hold of me. I wish there were a “priority tone” attached to a text. If it is important, it makes noise. If it isn’t important, it doesn’t make a sound, and goes straight into the trash.
I don’t text often (not having teenagers…yet), but it is helpful to shoot out a line if, say inspiration on how to reach a sister strikes, and I’m not somewhere I can email my counselors and I don’t want to forget it. Maybe they ought to have a delayed delivery texting option, kind of like the delayed start on the dishwasher (when you know all the hot water is gone and know you’ll forget to do it later and need clean bowls in the AM!)
My phone has a notepad feature.
My cell has a note pad too, but my cell phone is only on me when I’m out of the house, so I’d probably never remember that it was on the notepad. I’m with the responder who said she viewed text messages as things you need to communicate that can wait- otherwise, call. In the house, my cell lives in my purse hanging in the mudroom. I text from my computer when at home, and view it like email- read it when you have the chance.
Everyone uses their phone differently, so it would be nice to be able to tag things “urgent” or “read when you can”, etc… but that would get abused, I’m sure.
I should have waited until 7:30. So sorry.
But not that you’re awake, can you answer my question?
Yes. The answer is that when you change the battery, the smoke-detector will stop beeping.