The texting plague has spread far and wide. No longer are there days where people pick up their landline phones to make a phone call and even picking up a cell phone to make a call is not always everyone’s first choice of communication. Cell phones can pretty much do anything except maybe make you a sandwich. (there’s probably an app for that somewhere, lol)
We have become less patient as a society and want the convenience that texting provides. It takes less time to text someone than it does to make a phone call, some would say. So I guess this means that if you are not texting than you are falling way behind the times, OMG!
My take on texting is situational, sometimes it takes me longer to text my intentions than it would have been for me to speak with someone and on the other hand it provides me a quick in and out conversation with someone that would have otherwise lasted for who knows how long.(You know who I am talking about the long winded person who you always get stuck with!) Plus, texting provides a good way to keep records of your conversation, say you want to find out a date and time for a meeting, the person you texted replies and now you have the information permanently on your phone until you choose to trash it, GR8!
Texting can be annoying especially when sitting in a meeting and there is one or two people constantly fiddling with their phone. It is so distracting. If it continuously happens it’s disrespectful, IMO, to not only the person(s) leading the meeting but also the attendees. If something else is so important that you cannot pay attention than you should not show up in the first place or better yet leave your phone at your desk.
Texting can be used in academia to remind students of assignments, or to briefly converse. It can also be used for business purposes to send promotional offers and alerts, appointment reminders, and short project updates. I found an article that lists text messaging etiquette for the office. Thought it would be nice to share.
Rules to follow from the article Business Text Messaging Etiquette.
•First and foremost, always be cognizant about when and where is the most appropriate time to send a business associate a Text message.
•Start by always asking if the person you are Texting is available and if it is a good time to for them to have a Text exchange with you.
•Practice communicating briefly and succinctly
•Use Texting for non-critical topics or informational briefs
•If you are not a smooth multi-tasker, do not continue multiple Texting sessions and leave folks hanging while you communicate with others.
•Take into consideration who you are communicating with to determine the acronyms and emoticons that should be used – if at all.
•Although Texting is by nature a more casual environment, keep in mind the quality of your messages will reflect on your business, your perceived credibility, professionalism and tech savvy
HTHBE G2G TTYS!
Sources:
http://www.businessemailetiquette.com/text-messaging-etiquette/
http://www.safesurfingkids.com/chat_room_internet_acronyms.htm
