Say This, Not That..... the art of texting

Last night, I received a brief text from someone I am friendly with, asking for contact information for a good friend of mine.  First, if you are going to text me after 10 pm, there really should be an emergency.  Next, if you are someone with whom I have not really had contact in several months, I expect a bit of acknowledgment regarding that very fact.

Nope.  Just a "How are you?  Can I have so-and-so's email address?"  

Maybe I am getting irritable in my old age- lol! Maybe I do not understand the "culture" of texting vs, calling. (Though, even with work, I do lots of texting.) When you are contacting someone, even by text, there needs to be an opening, the substance of the communication, and a closing.

A simple, "Hey.  I hope you and yours are surviving winter. Sorry to text so late.  I am in the middle of something, and thought that you may have information that I need.  If you could give that to me, I would appreciate it.  Hope you are enjoying the long weekend."

I fully acknowledge that my example may seem too wordy to be a "text."  If so, I guess that ultimately, some situations are better addressed with a phone call.

My reply was delayed until the morning.  It was a brief  "I'm good.  No, I don't have it."  (Truth be told, that type of response goes "against the grain" of my very being.)  

I am concerned that "communication" has become so instantaneous that we have forgotten about simple manners.  I often caution clients that texting in a fit of rage (or in a drunken stupor!), can result in immediate relief, but often brings longer-term complications. 

Technology has brought so much convenience to our lives.  However, there seems to be a level of comfort that comes with being able to communicate AT someone, and not WITH them, and texting certainly fits with this.

I think that it would be helpful if people could think of texting as making a brief, written "phone call."  A little warmth in a greeting, written or verbal, goes a long way.  

In the meantime, try saying this, not that...