We’ve all been in tricky situations where texting had done us wrong. Maybe we meant to say “Ily” instead of a full on “I love you” and now you’re forced to have an awkward conversation with a good friend. And then maybe your mom responded to your long list of concerns with a “Yep.” instead of an “Of Course!”
No matter what we’ve all been victims of the tone-deaf communicator at least once or twice in our lifetimes and they can often start things without being asked to. How many fights have couples had when one member responds with a simple letter after a long, drawn out message?
And then of course, the dreaded “K” comes along. Never before in the English language has a single letter brought more fear or anger.
Now of course a lot of these issues are unintentional. Maybe we were busy folding laundry or doing the dishes, and had no choice but to keep the response short and to the point.
But why is it that we take such offense in quick and basic text messages? If anything wasn’t that the point of text messaging when it was first invented?
Well while that might’ve been the case, today we have fully-functional QWERTY-keyboards and the expectations are just higher. No longer do we have the excuse that texting is hard or time-consuming and we’ve come to a place where people just demand a lot more.
Now whether this is a good thing or a bad thing is uncertain, but think about how many issues we could’ve prevented in the past by responding with a little more thought and meaning. Surely we could’ve afforded to add a few more words and letters if it all meant keeping our message partners happy.
Next time you find yourself in the situation, think about how that “lol” might make somebody feel and if it would be received far better as a “HAHAHAHA, that’s hilarious!”
Especially in a time of emojis and reactions, we could all put in the effort to brighten up the days of our fellow text-ers.