Communication For A Fast Paced World

Adam Roll
DTC 375
Dr. Jason Farman
Word Count: 942

Communication For A Fast Paced World

On a daily basis, millions of people engage in a form of communication. Cell phones are a simple way to stay in contact with friends and loved ones. It has been a big benefactor for business purposes as well. Within the emergence of the cell phone, it wasn’t long before text messaging rapidly spread and become the fad in communication. In the fast paced world we live in today, text messaging is emerged as a new way of communication that is utilized on a daily basis due to its simplistic, strait to the point form. Here I will discuss the effects it has on communication, how it pays ‘homage’ to older media as Marshal Mcluhan would say, and how it is utilized by myself.

Text messaging has emerged as a new form of communication due to the fast paced world we live in today and has changed the way we communicate. We live in a world where we want instant results now, cutting out all the nonsense, pre-chatter and getting strait to the point. Text messaging does just that. Picture this, you want to wish your friend Happy Birthday but you are busy, perhaps in a meeting, you don’t have time to call your friend and chat for 5 minutes, so you text him Happy Birthday. It takes seconds to do. Text messaging is faster, it is more discrete and for some, an easier platform to communicate with, rather than a cell phone. Fore example, lets look at the last election, “More than 2.9 million text messages were said to have been sent out on that particular occasion. The Obama campaign has never really released the size of its mobile database, but the Biden announcement goes down in history as the largest mobile marketing push by text, at least to date.” (Mickey Alam Khan, Parra 11) As you can see text messaging was taken advantage of in the last elections and may have contributed to President Obama’s success.

Although text messaging is a new form of communication that is used on a daily basis it is not always the most appropriate platform to communicate with. For example, you do not want to use text messaging in cases such as: fights between two people or while operating a moving vehicle. The purpose for this is it is dry and emotionless, therefore sometimes difficult for the recipient to interpret mood or tone of the conversation. You may say something that can be taken wrong and ruin your relationship. In the case of operating a moving vehicle, it can prove to be deadly.

Text messaging, as McLuhan would say, pays ‘homage’ to older media. Text messaging formed a new name for itself as a form of communication. It is true, where we’re at today in this technology advanced world, is due to all the technological advancements that have came before it. Communication started at one point in time as hand written letters, then to the telegraph, and eventually transformed into the advancement we have today. Cell phones are a wireless form of communication that we can take with us on the go. Text messaging is an advancement that grew off of the cell phone which is needed for our world we live in today. As Bolt and Grusin states, “Media function as objects within the world--within systems of linguistic, cultural, social, and economic exchange. Media are hybrids in Latour’s sense and are therefore real for the cultures that create and use them.” (Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin, pg. 58) This goes the same for text messaging, it only exists because we as a society have a need for it.

I use text messaging on a daily basis for several purposes. For me, in certain circumstances, it is cheaper and less time consuming to send a text message to my friends and loved ones than making a phone call. It’s not that I am trying to avoid engaging in a conversation with them, its just that I am a very busy individual and it’s sometimes more convenient to send a text. At other times, I utilize the technology of text messaging because I am out of minutes and its simply cheaper than going over in minutes. One of the greatest things about text messaging in my opinion is that it can be done more discretely without interrupting anyone around you. Another example of the use of text messaging in my life would be for work. The prior position I held was a Managment position. It was not uncommon for me to receive text messages from employees and other superiors. Sometimes they were simple questions, and other times they were informative. On occasion, I would even be called into work through a text message. For me, text messaging has become an necessity, I use it on a daily basis in order to keep in contact with friends, family and even work, with little interruption or time consumption in my busiest moments.

Text messaging is great technology that has advanced due to specific cultural needs. Text messaging is a simple way to stay in contact with friends and loved ones when time is of the essence. It is best said by McLuhann when he states, “media as extensions of our senses institute new ratios, not only among our private senses, but among themselves when they interact among themselves.” (Marshal McLuhan, pg 152) It goes the same for text messaging, the cell phone becomes one with our senses. As you know, there are many ways of staying in contact with the world, some are more personal than text messaging, but it gets the job done.





Bibliography



Remediation, Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin, “Understanding New Media” http://www.jasonfarman.com/dtc375_sp09/Remediation2.pdf, 2000,

Mickey Alam Khan, Mobile Marketer, A victory for Obama, a victory for mobile, Novmber 5, 2008, Parra, 11. http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/opinion/editorials/2049.html

Essential, Marshal McLuhan, edited by Eric McLuhan and Frank Zingrone, 1995, http://www.jasonfarman.com/dtc375_sp09/McLuhan1.pdf

Text Messaging and Connectivity

Angel Almaraz
Dr. Jason Farman
DTC 375
27 January 2009

Text Messaging and Connectivity

Here is the dilemma – you left your house fifteen minutes ago, you are running late for either class or work, and you realize you left your cell phone at home. Do you go back for your phone or do you decide to spend the day without it? For many people there is no dilemma, you go back for the phone. What used to be a luxury item is now a must have item. Cell phones have moved past their original purpose of allowing users to call anyone at anytime. Text messaging has become the medium used to connect to each other. The conversations that take place through text messaging may not be the most profound but they allow users to feel connected to each other. Often the seemingly meaningless conversations keep us connected. Through text messaging, we can stay in constant contact with each other in a way that we have not been able to in the past.

When first introduced, the only function of a cell phone was to make and receive phone calls. Cell phone technology soon advanced and users had the option of sending and receiving e-mail on their phones. Then there was text messaging.

Text messaging has overtaken phone calls as the primary function of cell phones. In 2006, only 42 percent of U.S. cell phone users used their phones to carry on a conversation with someone. In 2002, that percentage was 80 percent (Fernando 11). While the use of text messaging continues to increase in the U.S., Europeans send the most text messaging, averaging four times the amount sent. (Fernando 12). What has led to text messaging overtaking phone calls as the primary function of cell phones?

One advantage of text messaging over phone calls was demonstrated on September 11, 2001. The numbers of phone calls placed that day overwhelmed the mobile phone system in New York, while text messages were able to get through (Palen 81). Text messages can be sent when there is not a strong enough signal to make a phone call. This allows users in rural areas to keep in touch.

Another advantage of text messaging over phone calls is that users have more control over the conversation (Mahatanankoon and O’Sullivan 975). When you are on a phone call, you have to wait for responses from the other party and often times the subject will repeatedly change and your original reason for calling may not be addressed. When sending a text message you direct the flow and duration of the conversation. Text messaging can also serve as a record of the conversation since you can go back and review your sent and received messages.

Yet another advantage of text messaging over phone calls is that sending and receiving text messaging is less disruptive to those around you, especially when in a public place. Everyone has been in a situation where you overhead a phone call and learned more about a stranger than you ever wanted to know. Now you can carry on the most intimate of conversations without those around you hearing every word.

Younger people tend to use and become more familiar with new technology more readily than any other age group (Ehrenberg, Juckes, White, and Walsh, 739). Some people it is possible to become addicted to text messaging but research in this area is limited (Ehrenberg, Juckes, White, and Walsh, 739). Some research has shown that individuals with lower levels of self-esteem may be more prone to text messaging addiction (Ehrenberg, Juckes, White, and Walsh, 739). In a study conducted by Ehrenberg, Juckes, White, and Walsh, they found that people who had an extraverted personality used text messaging more often (740). Their study also found that some people maybe more comfortable using technology to communicate rather than communicating face-to-face (Ehrenberg, Juckes, White, and Walsh, 740).

While text message use for social connection is high, its use in the business world remains limited. Text messages are generally limited to 160 characters, which limits the amount of business that can be conducted. Text messaging has developed its own abbreviated language but the use of an abbreviated language would be seen as unprofessional. E-mail remains the medium for communication in business world.

For now text messaging is the medium most used to keep us in contact with each other. Often times, what we are sending is not important, but being able to stay in contact allows us to remain a part of each other’s lives. Undoubtedly, text messaging will be replaced by a new technology. How soon and by what medium remains to be seen.

Works Cited

Ehrenberg, Alexandra, and Juckes, Suzanna, and White, Katerine, and Walsh, Shari. “Personality and Self-Esteem as Predictors of Young People’s Technology Use.” CyberPsychology & Behavior Vol. 11, No. 6 (2008)

Fernando, Angelo. “If you text it, they may come.” Communication World July-August 2007: 11-12.

Mahatanankoon, Pruthikrai and O’Sullivan, Patrick. “Attitude Toward Mobile Text Messaging: An Expectancy-Based Perspective.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 13 (2008): 973-992

Palen, Leysia. “Mobile Telephony in a Connected Life.” Communications of the ACM March 2002, Vol. 45, No. 3: 78-82.