About a year ago my brother and I were discussing the merits of text messaging. He said it is good to use to send a message to someone you need to send a message to but don’t necessarily want to talk to. I agreed a little too enthusiastically in the presence of my wife who said “Hey, you text me all the time!”. At the time, she was a doubter but has since been converted. Text messaging or texting is way more than avoiding conversations: texting is far superior to placing conventional phone calls. That statement is so self-evident that I would not think it needs further explanation. After visiting with some friends this weekend, I discovered that the merits of texting are not as universally accepted or realized as I believed.

About 85% of phone calls I receive could be replaced with texts. I am not an important person, but I do a lot and I do not like to be interrupted. I do, however, like to keep in touch with friends and family and I like to take part in spur-of-the-moment activities. Call my mobile phone and many times I don’t answer because I’m doing something that can’t be interrupted by a phone call. Email me and I may not get your message for a few minutes. Send me a text and I can see what you’ve got to say and quickly respond with a much smaller interruption to what I’m doing without the idle chat and platitudes required by phone conversations. I can respond while sitting in a meeting or class, during a changeover in tennis or nearly any time when I have my phone and a signal. Simply put, texting is more efficient.