Although it may seem like SMS is a thing of the past, it remains one of the most ubiquitous forms of messaging despite fierce competition from mobile apps. After all, with just a few quick taps on our phones, we can share our thoughts with others and hear from people we care about, no matter where we find ourselves in the world. Moreover, data from Pew Research Center suggests that around 83% of American adults own cell phones and three-quarters of them send and receive text messages.
"It is quick and convenient, for a start," Graham Jones, a qualified psychologist and a member of the British Psychological Society who focuses on how people behave online, told Bored Panda. "But it is also easier than phoning."
Jones pointed out that when we call someone and receive no answer, we’re supposed to leave a voicemail. "But it seems odd talking to someone who is not there," he added. "So, the vast majority of people don't leave voicemail messages. Instead, they use a form of written communication."
This makes sense psychologically. "Speech is for when the person you are speaking to is there and can hear you. Writing was invented to communicate with people who were not there at the time. So it makes no logical sense to our brains to leave a voicemail as the person is not there. It makes much more sense to write something to them." The psychologist explained this is one of the main reasons why many people hang up and send a text message as soon as they hear a voicemail announcement. "We always want to write to people who are not there because our brain knows they cannot hear us. We feel as though we are talking to ourselves," Jones added.
According to John Lauer, CEO and co-founder of business texting-software provider Zipwhip, there’s no faster, easier way to communicate than text messages. He explained that this medium of communication should keep a short format so people could consume and respond to texts quickly. However, being brief and speedy with typing what you have to say can lead to miscommunication and uncomfortable situations, such as the ones you see in this list.
"Because text messages are short and we have limited space, people take shortcuts," Jones explained the reason for these slip-ups. "They avoid proper sentences, correct grammar and punctuation. They use abbreviations to help shorten the message."
But the psychologist stressed that spelling, grammar and punctuation are key elements of the written language. "Without them, communication is less effective and much less efficient. That's why languages have all their grammar rules. But in the world of SMS, those rules have been abandoned out of necessity. As a result, miscommunication happens all the time."
In a bid to be crystal clear while exchanging texts with other people, we can make sure to take some extra steps to avoid finding ourselves in embarrassing situations. "One way would be to type what you would say to the person," Jones suggested. "Say it out loud as you type it. That way it will be likely to make better sense and avoid embarrassment."
"Make sure you read your text before pressing the send button. Read it a couple of times. Pause. Read it again. You will be able to pick out mistakes and potential problems before you send the message," he added. "All too often, people press send and then notice a mistake later. That leads them to regret what they sent. This can be avoided by taking a breather before you send anything."
Jones mentioned in an earlier interview that people are using different methods of communication for separate purposes. "For example, some people use text messaging for family communications, WhatsApp for communicating with friends, Twitter for direct messaging companies, and so on." He added that we choose to communicate with different methods for specific reasons. "Some people will use text messaging more than others not because they prefer it, but because they do more communicating with family or friends or whichever group they mentally allocate to text messaging."
"In the past, when all you had was either sending a letter or making a phone call, there was much less communication we had to do. Nowadays, with texting, WhatsApp, Messenger, and so on, we are spending much more time using communications systems. In the past, much of what we now do electronically, we would have said face to face," Jones said, noting how almost everything we used to do in person can be achieved while texting — from breaking up to sending birthday wishes.
