Texting 1, 2, 3....

"Do you use text messaging?" a new acquaintance asked me, as if to prove a point.

"Sure," I said. "Doesn't everyone?"

"You're the only person I know over 20 who does," he said.

I was surprised to find that in America, text messaging is considered an arcane art mastered only by the very young. In Europe everyone uses it, often in preference to a phone call. It takes less time and less battery power, costs less and leaves a written record. I can't think of any reason why texting should be expensive in the  U.S., but it is, unless you get a special plan.

"Texting is a problem at my friend's restaurant," someone else said. "The waitresses are texting all the time while they're working.

"But it was worse the other day when I went to a funeral and the people in the pew on either side of me were both texting and answering email during the service."

Comments

[samantha]

This is just my opinion, but Americans have never really needed to text before.

Just think about it - here in France, where it used to cost 30 cents per minute to call a cell-phone from a house phone, and 50 cents per minute from a cell-phone to another cell-phone, a ten-centime text was the cheapest option.

Whereas in the US, there is no extra charge to call a cell from a fixe (nor do you pay by the minute), and everybody has an over-abondance of cell minutes (plus free long distance, free nights & weekends, free in-network calling, etc), so they don't need to conserve their airtime. So it's always just been easier to pick up the phone and call someone. If the phone cost as much as it did in France, we would've picked up on texting a lot sooner.

But nowadays, the younger kids are so used to chatting and whatnot online, that for them, texting is just a natural extension of the internet.

[Sedulia]

Thanks Samantha! I knew there had to be a reason. I've lived in France so long that the high charges seemed reasonable to me and I just used texting instead. Now it's the Americans who seem unreasonable. Because all the same-- a text has got to cost the phone company less than a phone call, wouldn't you think?

[Nancy]

I (50 year old that I am) have only recently started texting. I find that my communications with my 15 year old are much more clear than if I just call him. No more, "MOM you didn't tell me that".

All our new phone plans have very inexpensive texting. I think Americans have just come late to the party so to speak.

[mmh]

I agree that Americans have just come to the party late. I'm 34 and all of my friends text message. We prefer it to calling. It saves time versus calling. Texting is usually used to try to meet up somewhere. Therefore, there's no need to have a full conversation just before you're going to meet in person. Also, it could be a regional thing. I live on the East Coast in Virginia.

[Lesley]

Language Log has a post on this very subject today : Language Log: What's the difference?

[Allison]

I think your acquaintance set the bar a little young at 20 unless I am completely out of step with my fellow college students, which I don't think is the case. Over 30, perhaps, or over 35ish... I'm not sure exactly where the line generally is, but I can certainly tell you that my parents, who are 56 years old, do not text. I don't know if they even know how (my mother definitely doesn't, but she's never been one for technology).