To text or not to text

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

We currently have text bocked on our cell phones. Never had a need to do it before and kept getting unwanted texts that cost us money. We are in our mid 60s.

Now our oldest daughter, in her early 40 is saying she wished we would get texting.

Do you text and what is your opinion of it?

[Kay H Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Kay H]

I don't text. My phone has 3 letters on each number so it takes me too long to text with all my mistakes plus I would have to pay more for texting so Idon't find it necessary.

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

I text. I used to have a phone like Kay's; now I have a smartphone with a keyboard, so texting is easy.

It's fun, and it's faster than calling in a lot of situations. Like if you just want to quickly tell someone that you have arrived at the restaurant where you're meeting. Or if you want to say, "Where are you?" Or if you want to remind your DH or kids to bring something home that evening. So I can see why your daughter likes it.

I used to get a certain number of junk texts on my old phone...for some reason that has stopped with the new phone. I think once you have a phone number for a while, you fall off the lists. I used to have a cell number where we got tons of junk calls, all in Spanish, and some from collection agencies. Eventually they all gave up.

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

I resisted texting for the longest time. Now, I can't imagine living without it. It's so much easier to text someone rather than emailing them because most people have their phone with them, but not their computer. And, it's easy to get short answers to questions.

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

I don't think I'd hear from my DS17 for days if I didn't have texting. He's the one that first got me into it.

Plus it's super handy for shopping lists, remind of appointments etc.

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

Not for me---I'll call or email instead.

[emilyarnette Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close emilyarnette]

I think the days of getting useless texts or spam from advertisers is generally over. I have been texting for years and I haven't gotten any spam that I did not directly sign up for. As long as you don't text a service that sends texts like that, you really should not get them in reply.

Also, just because your daughter wants you to get texting, does not mean you have to go out and buy the most expensive unlimited text messaging plan. A lot of phone companies will offer a 100-500 texts per month for a few extra dollars. If you know you won't be using it that much, it would be easier to just get a smaller plan. If your daughter is busy and/or working a lot, it might make her feel better knowing she can shoot you a text instead of having to call.

My parents used to be against texting as well, but after I finally convinced them...I can't get them to stop! Hope that helps.

[gandalf252002 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close gandalf252002]

Not unless you have to

I text generally only when people text me, otherwise I call or email. If a person texts and I think it is going to become a conversation I call. Is good for quick "on my way" or "running a bit late" but to often people try to have conversations or make plans that way.

[puppymommo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close puppymommo]

I agree that having a teenager in the family makes texting almost necessary. Since DD16 had to have an unlimited texting plan, it only cost a few more dollars to add texting to DH and my phones. Usually I only send texts in reply to one I have received. Most teenagers today do not email. If the choice in terms of choice is email, phone call, or text, I think most would prefer text, then phone call, then email. DD tells me she and her friends consider phone calls more intrusive than texting. They have a whole ettiquette about it.

On the other hand, if you are not trying to communicate with someone for whom texting is the preferred means of communication, there's really no need for a texting plan.

[PigsDad Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PigsDad]

Back several decades I'm sure people had conversations about whether to stick with telegraph or use that new-fangled telephone thing. I'm guessing the people who say they won't text today are the same who would have stuck w/ the telegraph back then...

Kurt

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

I absolutely text. It's how older dd and I stay in touch most of the time. If I think of something I can send her a text and know I'm not interrupting her if she's in class. She can get back to me when she has a chance. I also like the text feature for alerts from my bank, airlines, etc. Much better than getting a phone call, especially if I'm someplace I can't answer the phone, or have trouble hearing (like in an airport).

Since I have a phone with a QWERTY keyboard it's much easier to text than it used to be.

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

Not for me---I'll call or email instead.

I am with you. I had texting blocked on my cell phone.

[pittle Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pittle]

I have a super-duper smartphone, but did not purchase the texting plan for it because I have no intention of texting on a regular basis. I choose not to text.

I use my cell phone for my convenience and give my cell number to very few people (therefore, it is in my purse 95% of the time). The people who do have my cell number, know that I prefer calls or email. If they send me a text, I read it and call them back or send them an email.

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

Another reason I text is that I don't have a smart phone, no data plan, and don't have the ability to do email on my phone. As calling is sometimes impractical, texting works well [for me].

[BoardGirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoardGirl]

not for me.

The expectations of others that I be instantly reachable is already annoying. I do not carry my phone around unless I have a need for it. it's for my convenience, not the convenience of others.

for the longest time, I woudln't give my mother my cell # as when I had a work cell, she'd call to chat or saw something on tv that she thought I'd like, etc. She got mad when she found out I had a pers phone and didn't tell her, so I explained why that was. During the day, I work, I'm not interested in frivilous conversations in any format and certainly not of the disruptive sort. send me an email and I'll deal with it later.

I'm not going to leave myself open for "hey, I texted you and you didn't text back!" and am going as gadget-free as I can be. also happens to be much more economical that way.

I have a cheap phone with the bottom rung calling plan, no data, no texting. I don't need more than that. ymmv