I Heart Text

This post is cross-posted at BlogHer.

Man, do I love text messages.  My work just got me a mobile phone, and I just about died for the few moments I thought the text messenging was somehow turned off.  I emailed multiple people to text me.  I was freaking out.  My level of relief that the text messenging did indeed work bordered on embarrassing.

My last boyfriend didn't have a mobile phone, and I felt like a basic level of communication was missing.  Not the calling - not being able to call him on his mobile was annoying, of course - but not being able to text was like having an arm cut off.

It's like getting a surprise poke - that vibrates and makes you giggle.  It's a way to say:  Hey, This is what's up.  Or just:  Thinking of you.  Or, I'd imagine though I've never gotten this one:  I love you.  Or:  I picked up the milk.  Or:  whatever.  No big convo, just... poke, poke, vibrate, giggle.  Text messages make you smile, from lovers and from friends.

Email, on the other hand, has gone downhill from what we thought it was going to be, hasn't it?  Like, right off a cliff.

We thought it had the potential for great, romantic correspondence.  The movie "You've Got Mail" has this innocent sense of emailing as romantic correspondence.  Sitting down to type out a letter full of our thoughts and dreams.  (I think we call that blogging now, and we share it with everyone.)

The email reality nowadays, unfortunately, is usually very different than we thought it was going to be.  We get A LOT of mail.  We use it all day at work.  We (not including me) bring it with us on our Blackberries.  We answer fast.  We sometimes don't answer.  And sometimes even an email you want to send has a level of unpleasant pressure.

You write, you hit send, and you wait. 

A text message is light.  Email can be heavy.

Sure, email brings us joys as well as annoyances, but for romance, I think the text message has it beat.  Think I'm crazy?  Try it; send a cute text today, and see how you feel when the reply comes back.

Poke, vibrate, giggle, smile.  That's good stuff.

Comments

[Hilly]

I love text messages. To be, that is the most sublime form of conversation.

[Karl]

Yeah, not a text fan. I've sent them and received them, but I'd certainly never want it to be one of my main forms of communication. I can't type worth a damn on a phone. Takes far too long. Just easier to dial the darn thing and call.

[Joel]

I'm not a big fan of texting actually, I just wanted to say that your very beautiful and if your spending your free time writing these blogs about text messaging and how its cool, fun etc... Its not! Live your life to the fullest that blog was dull. Write about you adventuring and having a good time if you already haven't.