nospam99 Posted October 1, 2018 Posted October 1, 2018 I'm a 64 y/o male. I see a lot of threads here on LS with posters talking about a lot of angst about when to text, what to text, what it means if he/she doesn't text or text 'yet'. I don't get it. Why are people communicating with dating partners by texting instead of talking on the phone? I can understand a SHORT text to confirm a detail (date, time, place) or 'I'm stuck in traffic and I'm gonna be late.' about a planned date. But not a conversation. Texting fails for me: I don't get to hear her tone of voice, it's too slow, and it's a PitA poking a keyboard. On the other hand, talking on the phone with the conversation flowing is the next best thing to face to face. Is it just, as I imply in my thread title, that the generations that have grown up always having a cell phone find texting so familiar that that's how they roll?
alphamale Posted October 1, 2018 Posted October 1, 2018 yes, the younger generation pretty much texts all the time. whereas us old-timers like to call and text. my younger brother who is 40 (i'm 53) pretty much the only way to contact him is by text, if you call him it goes to voicemail which tells you his mailbox is full and then hangs up.
smackie9 Posted October 1, 2018 Posted October 1, 2018 texting is the norm, because that's all they have ever known. I'm sure talkin on the phone vs talking in person was a deal in the olden days. There was a time a phone was only for the purpose in an emergency and not for 2 hours of cooing over a new BF. I'm 54 and TBH I prefer texting or IM if it's not anything real important.
Andy_K Posted October 1, 2018 Posted October 1, 2018 I'm a 64 y/o male. Texting fails for me: I don't get to hear her tone of voice, it's too slow, and it's a PitA poking a keyboard. Right, but you're overlooking the advantages of texting You don't have to be 'free' to take a text. Many people have pretty busy lives these days, setting aside time to talk on the phone is one more thing to organise in a world full of demands on your time. You can text whenever, wherever, and most of the time you don't really have to interrupt what you're doing. It can be as soon as you get a message, or minutes or hours later. At your convenience. You can stay in touch for longer. You can be exchanging a few texts with someone a day and it feels like you're in constant communication. A phonecall has a defined start and end, you're either talking or you're not. You have a record of your exchanges. I'd forget half of what I was told if it wasn't in written form... sometimes it's really useful to be able to see what someone told you a week ago, especially when getting to know someone new. 1
SunnyWeather Posted October 1, 2018 Posted October 1, 2018 If it's in the beginning phase of a relationship, texting for details of when to meet etc are fine. But spending time having a 'conversation' punching in the letters is a waste of time and energy for me and I don't generally do that beyond a quick "hello" "how's your day?" thing. bleh. too many ways for info to be misconstrued. Perhaps it's a generational thing, but if one expresses that they don't like having 'conversations' like this, then parameters are set and if they are not compatible, perhaps the relationship isn't compatible as well.
greymatter Posted October 1, 2018 Posted October 1, 2018 It’s personal preference and not necessarily generational. In my relationship we text daily in between seeing each other and talk in person. We both hate talking on the phone and completely avoid calls.
FMW Posted October 2, 2018 Posted October 2, 2018 I'm 53 - I HATE talking on the phone. I prefer texting to just check in and say hi and to make plans. I like face to face conversations for anything more. I only talk on the phone if face to face interaction isn't going to be possible because of distance apart. 1
vla1120 Posted October 2, 2018 Posted October 2, 2018 I’m 57 and also hate talking on the phone. I don’t know how I lived this long without the benefit of texting! That being said, in some cases it is a generational thing. My daughters will not pick up a phone call. We have an agreement. If I MUST talk to them, first I text to tell them to pick up the phone when I call.
Els Posted October 2, 2018 Posted October 2, 2018 It's really not as big a deal as people here make it out to be. Most of us just do whatever works best for us in a particular situation. When the SO and I were long-distance, we did both calls/Skype AND texts. When we lived close to each other, or live with each other as we currently do, it's almost always texts and they're never long. Why waste time talking on the phone when you can just use it to focus on work and come back sooner to talk to them in person? We do call if one of us is away from work.
Recommended Posts