Do you prefer to talk or text?

I choose none of the above. I hate texting. I hate the little keyboard on my phone that makes it impossible to spell anything correctly. I hate the clipped, abbreviated textspeak we are forced to use that barely resembles the English language at all. I partially blame texting for dumbing down the American population, not that it had very far to go anyway.

If I have to text someone more than once in a conversation, I just pick up the phone and call them. Text messages are not a forum for conversation. They are only to be used to find out information. “Are you awake?” “What time is dinner?” “What’s your shoe size?” “Who won the first Nobel Prize?”

I hate talking on the phone, too. There are some people I know that love talking on the phone. They are impossible to get off once you get on. “Blah blah blah me me me…” “Uh huh, I have to go now. My house is on fire.” “Oh, really? I remember this one time my house was on fire, blah blah blah me me me.” So, when it comes to gleaning practical information from talkers, I generally prefer to text message. It’s simple and to the point.

Either of these options is a poor substitute for sitting down at a table with a friend and having a proper conversation. Sometimes, that’s just not an option. Sometimes, my friends live in different states than I do. That tends to happen when you move around the country. In any case, sitting down at a table across from a friend is still my preferred method of communication. Seeing their facial expressions, watching them laugh or cry or cry with laughter… you just can’t give someone a hug over the phone.