Tuesday, March 2, 2010

We're All Thumbs: Texting Etiquette

Texting is a distinct form of communication because it allows the message sender to bypass many of the considerations required for other forms, such as traditional telephony or letter writing. The formation of a thought or whim gets to the keyboard without much mental filtration, and although it ironically takes longer (for most of us) to type a text message than to actually speak it, it cuts out the mediating step of introductions, social etiquette, and unfortunately, sometimes moral constraint. The 160 character limit decided on as a standard by Friedhelm Hillebrand (due to bandwidth limitations on the secondary cell phone signal it uses) has inadvertently spawned an entire generation of shortcut communicators, and it is taking time for etiquette to catch up. Recently we've seen an increase in vehicle and pedestrian fatalities linked to distracted texting, and in teen problems such as sleep issues, school grades dropping, distancing from parents, bullying, and "sexting." On the other hand, Short Message Service was a major player in the record-breaking fundraisers for Haiti earthquake victims and for allocating relief efforts and supplies (although more established donation mechanisms move the money along much faster). In whatever way the etiquette for texting evolves, it will likely be a de facto standard, and pull all other communication forms toward its tendencies even as it normalizes to existing social norms.



Safety Warning:
Haiti relief-related scams predicted in some of the Web pages and texting services used to donate to the cause. Be cautious but generous.

Donation safety tips:
http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/15/tips-for-safe-and-efficient-giving-to-help-haiti/

Better Business Bureau advice:
http://www.bbb.org/us/article/bbb-advises-donors-on-how-to-vet-haiti-earthquake-charity-appeals-14644

Listing of valid charities helping Haiti:
http://www.bbb.org/us/article/charities-providing-haiti-earthquake-relief-14690

Sources Consulted and Works Cited:
Why Text Messages Are Limited to 160 Characters:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/05/invented-text-messaging.html

[New York Times article] As Text Messages Fly, Danger Lurks: (link may be broken because of access differences between school router and mine)
http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/20/us/20messaging.html&OQ=_rQ3D2Q26pagewantedQ3D2&OP=6b7cc517Q2FQ3Cu6fQ3CsUJYwUUQ5CQ23Q3CQ23XXQ26Q3CXQ5DQ3CQ23XQ3CoYQ3CQ23X46YYDvLrvQ2BQ2AQ5C4x

Texting May Be Taking a Toll:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/26/health/26teen.html

When Dad Banned Text Messaging:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/30/when-dad-banned-text-messaging/

$2 Million in Donations for Haiti, via Text Message:
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/1-million-in-donations-for-haiti-via-text-message/

Cries for Help via Text Messages Are Used to Direct Aid to Haiti:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/world/americas/21text.html

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