2 TXT or not 2 TXT?

Despite being at ease with most new technology and social networking, I've never really "gotten" texting. And just when it appears I have good use for texting, it turns out that not only are my fingers crooked, but I have to locate my glasses in order to see the letters.

Part of the Bye-Bye Birdie phone generation where we lost facial cues, I love to write, so email - even with its loss of vocal cues - was a natural extension of my conversations. And I'll admit I find the challenge of being concise but meaningful on Twitter or Facebook an intriguing exercise in connectivity. Yet texting always seemed to remove even more cues without adequate replacement. Oh, occasionally when my plane had landed and I refused to be one of those people who share their most intimate thoughts or travel plans with 200 others, I might painstakingly text "my plane has landed meet you at baggage".

But there were always those old, arthritic fingers. And while I'd mastered the easy, occasional LOL, IMHO or :-), translating texting when you don't know either of the languages can be daunting. So it was longhand (longword?) for me.

Then there were those who sent hundreds of text messages a day, sometimes while sitting side-by-side with the recipient. (Don't even get me started on texting while driving, you don't have either the time or the ear protection.) Does anyone really have that many urgent comments in one day? Is the exchange of competing texts really "conversation" or simultaneous soapboxes? And what can be made of the seventeen year old, straight A student who, when asked why she was constantly texting instead of picking up the phone or talking face-to-face, replied that she was uncomfortable with the "silences" of conversation. Really?

The last two days have caused me to rethink my reluctance to text. With my Mother in the emergency room, subsequently admitted to the hospital and with family anywhere from 300 to 2000 miles away, phoning was a luxury for when I had substantial news. For all the rest (resting comfortably, still having tests, being admitted, doctor not here until noon) texting private information in the midst of a noisy, chaotic and distinctly impersonal setting worked remarkably well.

Now if I could just reliably find my glasses.