- Roughly 70% of our communication is non-verbal. Things like tone of voice, eye contact, facial expression can totally change the meaning of a sentence. Think about the last time you were on the phone with someone. You can hear when they are focused on your or distracted, you can hear when they are smiling. All that is stripped away when you text.
- People are often distracted and doing something else while texting, which can lead to misreading, misinterpreting and/or rushed unthoughtful responses. I know that I have been guilty of this at times as well. We all lead busy lives and it is all too easy to give a text minimal attention.
- "Can you hear me now?!" When texting, you are at the mercy of your provider and their network to deliver your messages in order you sent them and in a timely fashion. How many times have you compared what you sent vs. what the other person received?
- Texting is impersonal; there is a limit to the real connection you can have with someone but the frequency that many people use text messaging can cause a false sense of closeness. This is especially true in new or long distance relationships.
To safely use texting, it is be used in conjunction with phone calls (video calls like Skype and FaceTime are even better) and actually give your full attention to the texts you read and send.