You see it more and more. Someone insanely concentrating on the screen of their cell phone, furiously pounding away on it with both thumbs, as they text the day and night away. Harmless fun, a way to keep tabs on family and friends instantly, or a vain exercise designed to detach ourselves more and more from each other? Once again, News-Journal staffers Tom Iacuzio and Dave Wersinger offer up their takes on texting. Who do you agree with? Go now to news-journalonline.com to vote.
NAY: Smug, vain flock to Twitter
DAVID W. WERSINGER
ACCENT EDITOR
So what's my beef now?
Texting. I don't care about it. And yet, the world continues to rotate.
Of course some would have you believe you can't live without this Twitter thing. (Spoiler alert: It's Tom.)
You can. I do. Let's get to it.
First, there's the smugness factor. "Yes, isn't it wonderful, look at us, we're distilling our great thoughts to their pure essence in 140 characters, no less! Wheee! And they're sooooo important, you need to follow our every word, including what we had for breakfast, and look, we're opening our car door! Sign up now and follow me!'"
I'll pass.
Impersonal? Warren Zevon wrote a song in 1989 called "Splendid Isolation," an apt description of the culture of texting. Why go out at all? Lock the doors, put aluminum foil over the windows, sit back and... do absolutely nothing. Don't talk to people. Heck, it's probably a safe bet they had nothing important to say anyway. Meet face to face or cultivate friendships? Naaahhhh! It's overrated.
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the most social person in the world ('No, Dave, say it's not true?!') But at least when I'm not interacting with someone, I do it face to face.
YAY: Texting convenient for many things
TOM IACUZIO
STAFF WRITER
"Basically, a human being is a social animal," a wise man once said. "So, if you create some short moment of happiness for people, you get deep satisfaction."
Surely when this man said this, he was speaking on the joy of texting and the feeling that one gets when reading the latest tweets sent to one's Twitter account. (Follow me at twitter.com/tomiacuzio)
The funny thing about my colleague is that he claims to be "not the most social person in the world." But think about this...at some point in your daily life, you need to interact with other humans. What is more anti-social than sending a quick message via text when then other option is actual audible interaction?
Don't get me wrong. I don't have a huge problem with Alexander Graham Bell's invention. It's just that I don't feel like talking to every Tom the pizza delivery boy, Dick the telemarketer and Harry the tech support guy that comes along.
And it's not just a matter of ease, sometimes it's a matter of necessity. For example, you're meeting a friend at a crowded bar. You've somehow managed to find a great table and the band has started. There's just one problem. You're friend hasn't shown up yet. Should you call? How? The place is thundering loud and you can't go outside or you'll lose the table. Solution? Text.
Your in a library studying for a test. You're at a wedding searching for the groom. You're at a garage sale searching for that last Hummel figurine your mom needs for her collection. The best option in all these situations, and plenty more like it, is to send a text.
Oh and by the way, that opening quote? Yeah, that was from the Dalai Lama. Stick that in your anti-social pipe and smoke it, Wersinger.
DAVID W. WERSINGER
ACCENT EDITOR
So what's my beef now?
Texting. I don't care about it. And yet, the world continues to rotate.
Of course some would have you believe you can't live without this Twitter thing. (Spoiler alert: It's Tom.)
You can. I do. Let's get to it.
First, there's the smugness factor. "Yes, isn't it wonderful, look at us, we're distilling our great thoughts to their pure essence in 140 characters, no less! Wheee! And they're sooooo important, you need to follow our every word, including what we had for breakfast, and look, we're opening our car door! Sign up now and follow me!'"
I'll pass.
Impersonal? Warren Zevon wrote a song in 1989 called "Splendid Isolation," an apt description of the culture of texting. Why go out at all? Lock the doors, put aluminum foil over the windows, sit back and... do absolutely nothing. Don't talk to people. Heck, it's probably a safe bet they had nothing important to say anyway. Meet face to face or cultivate friendships? Naaahhhh! It's overrated.
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the most social person in the world ('No, Dave, say it's not true?!') But at least when I'm not interacting with someone, I do it face to face.
YAY: Texting convenient for many things
TOM IACUZIO
STAFF WRITER
"Basically, a human being is a social animal," a wise man once said. "So, if you create some short moment of happiness for people, you get deep satisfaction."
Surely when this man said this, he was speaking on the joy of texting and the feeling that one gets when reading the latest tweets sent to one's Twitter account. (Follow me at twitter.com/tomiacuzio)
The funny thing about my colleague is that he claims to be "not the most social person in the world." But think about this...at some point in your daily life, you need to interact with other humans. What is more anti-social than sending a quick message via text when then other option is actual audible interaction?
Don't get me wrong. I don't have a huge problem with Alexander Graham Bell's invention. It's just that I don't feel like talking to every Tom the pizza delivery boy, Dick the telemarketer and Harry the tech support guy that comes along.
And it's not just a matter of ease, sometimes it's a matter of necessity. For example, you're meeting a friend at a crowded bar. You've somehow managed to find a great table and the band has started. There's just one problem. You're friend hasn't shown up yet. Should you call? How? The place is thundering loud and you can't go outside or you'll lose the table. Solution? Text.
Your in a library studying for a test. You're at a wedding searching for the groom. You're at a garage sale searching for that last Hummel figurine your mom needs for her collection. The best option in all these situations, and plenty more like it, is to send a text.
Oh and by the way, that opening quote? Yeah, that was from the Dalai Lama. Stick that in your anti-social pipe and smoke it, Wersinger.
You know what else the Dalai Lama said?
"Gunga Galunga."
Texting is also very handy for work. I'm on the business phone line with clients a lot, and texting is great for updating my boss or asking quick questions.
Also, why waste minutes to call someone just to ask "What should I bring to (X) tomorrow?" or "What time are we meeting?"