Texting can be a struggle, having to swipe your fingers across the screen to communicate to someone on the other side. But wait; talking is also a struggle. Having to move your tongue and vocalize words takes a bit of effort. What do you prefer? Do you find comfort in vocalizing your message to others; or just typing it out? Personally, I prefer the latter. For me, talking on the phone is awkward; so awkward that I could lie about my mom calling me just to get off the call. Studies have shown that teens would rather text than talk to their friends. I would rather text than call because I don’t like my voice and I am very self-conscious about it. Is that the reason for other people my age? Do people avoid face-to-face conversations because they are self-conscious? Does texting affect us more negatively than it does positively? In this article we will dive into the positives and negatives of texting and why we should find a balance between texting and calling.

Our forms of communication have evolved and changed drastically. One of those forms of communication, texting, made a major impact on society. For the most part, it made things easier, since, with a few touches or even voice messaging, you can communicate without consuming a lot of time. There are also many small additions to texting that can further emphasize communication.

As I have mentioned before, texting consumes less time than calling does. On average, phone calls last about 2 minutes, but it only takes 4-5 seconds to send a text message. Additionally, texting creates a stronger bond with friends since you can add things like emojis, gifs, and etcetera. This makes it so that you can express yourself without having to show your actual facial expressions. 

Texting has also been proven to have a positive effect on teens. Psychology studies have shown that when teens read and write texts often, it enhances their reading ability. Furthermore, researchers found that teenagers who communicate digitally are able to decrease their distressed state easier. This is because they won’t feel pressured to have an answer right away or anxious during face-to-face conversions. 

Whilst there are many positives, there are also many negatives associated with texting. A negative effect is that texting may lower communication and social skills. People that have grown up texting using only slang words and improper grammar often have poor writing skills compared to people who use ‘proper’ grammar. Additionally texting while driving causes many people to get into accidents and lose their lives. Studies have also shown that texting prevents the younger generation from building relationships which causes an increase in social anxiety and depression.

Texting is very convenient as proven in the paragraphs above, however, calls, FaceTime, and face-to-face conversations are another form of communication we must not forget. People should find a balance between calling and texting for a number of reasons. One is that hearing another person’s voice helps you analyze the message. However, when texting, words are there for you to read and interpret the tone that was intended to be communicated. Phone calls also help to build and strengthen relationships because they help vocalize and show emotion through voice and facial expressions. Texting is also said to be too impersonal and can give off a false sense of closeness. 

On the other hand, one may oppose FaceTime or calls because they are insecure about their physical traits. Some people, like me, are insecure about their voice and physical traits. This makes me stray away from FaceTime, calls, and voice messages. Many other people struggle with insecurities like this as well as social anxiety which makes texting more appealing to them.

Undoubtedly, texting has impacted our society to a large extent and feels crucial to our everyday lives. From reasons like saving time, improving reading skills, and more, texting has proven to be superior to talking for people like me; people that like quick and easy communication and/or are insecure about their physical traits. From this, we should learn that although texting doesn’t necessarily affect us more negatively, we just need to find a balance between the two.

What do you prefer? Comment down below!