Texting Leads to Lost Manners Blog

     The art of communications is ever changing and ever growing. But I feel texting is not only massacring  the King's English but also leading to a loss of civility and just plain good manners.

     So much has changed with the way we communicate in recent years. But if you think about it, the way we talk or the methods we talk have been changing for a long, long time.

    I'm 55 years old. Here are some of those changes just in my lifetime.

    -Dial phone to push button phone
    -Cordless phone
    -Call waiting/Caller I-D
    -The Bag Phone
    -Cell phones
    -Social Media
          -Facebook, Texting, Twitter, Linkdin, etc, etc.

     By all accounts, the above listed advancements equal different means of communicating. Obviously, the first few actually include sound that is a person's voice, But after that, I think we have a line of demarcation in the world of speech.

     So much can be taken from hearing someone's voice. Just by someone saying "Hi," it's pretty easy to tell their mood. But then enters the world of Social Media in all its forms. I'm pretty sure just about all Social Media eliminates the key to communicating. That key is sound.

     Through Social Media, we can "talk" across the globe almost instantaneously. The convenience is fantastic! No more; No answers, busy signals, answering machines (oops voicemail.) Type a message using all your fingers or just your thumbs and BAM! You've just "spoken" to someone in Timbuktu.

     But with convenience and speed comes what I feel are the typed grunts, one-letter replies or simply no replies that are leading the most advanced peoples in world history down a path of clicking abbreviated words, lost punctuation and in my opinion lost manners.

     Take a few examples:

     1) How many times have you used Social Media to communicate with a friend, family member or colleague whether asking a question or making a statement or declaration and gotten one of the following: K, 👍, idk, btw, lol, lmao, etc?
     2) How many times have you received a message with absolutely ZERO punctuation?
     3)And probably the worst scenario in my opinion, how many times have you reached out to a friend, family member or colleague with a statement or declaration like: "Good morning! I hope you have a great day," and NOT received a response?

     Regarding example #1), I concede that we're all in a hurry. So, a quick abbreviated answer to a question seems logical. My concern is, a generation writing in abbreviations like our millenniums is losing its ability to spell or know the proper use of certain words. My 23 year old son uses "than" when he means "then" and he's about to graduate from college.
     As for example #2), "Am going 2 store barn post office @ 3 want anything 4 tomorrow we're having bbq for the party🎉saw spot looking good yesterday k." is NOT a real sentence but it's almost the exact text I recently received from a former employee. My point is, what are the odds of this poor grammar taking root? And, what could be the consequences?
     And now for example #3,) the one that really chaps me. If someone texts or messages me, "Hi." I'm going to reply! It's as simple as that. Due to my acknowledgment in example #1,) I may offer a brief, even abbreviated reply, but I will reply.
     How many times have you offered a text or message without a question and been left staring at your device wondering or with hurt feelings?
     Here's what I consider to be a simple analogy. Let's say you're walking into your local grocery store. As you enter, a passerby says "hello." Do you just keep walking? You know you heard them. They know you heard them. No! You don't just keep walking. You continue into the store BUT you still say "hi."
      But why do so many reply to the stranger who addresses them without a question, but not reply to the texts or messages, many times a loved one or family member,  who simply says something like "Good morning. Have a great day"?
      For me, the really bad news regarding example #3) is, it's not just the millenniums committing what I consider 'manners fraud,' it's in many cases the millennium's parents too. And I know I'm not the first to offer the adage that parents lead by example.

      So with all the above being said or in this case typed, how long do you think it'll before yes is one grunt and no is two? And if there's no question involved, I suppose dead silence will be the reply. Heck, it's pretty much that way now... isn't it?

Bill Robertson, 👋. That's an emoji waving. Also, I did not know until this writing that millennial is an adjective. The noun is millennium or millenniums.