One of my pet peeves is when people start texting while you are hanging out with them. I believe it bluntly tells the person that they are hanging out with that they would rather be talking to someone else right then. It is obviously rude that you make the effort in hanging out with someone to just watch them talking to someone else. Along with these lines, I find it kind of annoying when people answer a phone call and they go on talking for hours instead of just politely saying that they cannot talk right now. I don't find this quite as annoying, but it would be nice if people just avoid doing that. In both cirucumstances of texting and phone calls, they can be found to be hurtful because you completely ignore the people that they are surrounded with that actually want to hang out with you. There are more oppotunities to text people on your own time rather then in the expense of others time also. I understand that there are some people in this world that get all wild up when they don't instantly get a response from their previous text, but just tell them that you are hanging out with some one else right now.
I believe others are responsible for changing and fixing this behavior because it is very offensive to some people. People need to learn what kind of message they are sending to other people when they are texting while with a group of people, especially on a date. It could be a mindset sort of thing where people don't really mean that when they are texting others, but why not just play it safe and just avoid it; I know people can survive without texting for a little bit. If texting happens to be an emergency, then at least let other people know that you need to do it. I hope people can just be a little bit more sensative towards others, because texting is not the only kind of communication that could be occuring when you do so.
Blake: I happen to agree very much with this pet peeve. You should hang out with the people you've chosen to hang out with, not just keep another running conversation with someone you haven't put in the effort to actually go see. You raise two calls to action: 1. Don't be rude about sending texts or taking calls when you're having a real-life personal conversation with someone else and 2. Don't be someone who expects to have your texts answered immediately all the time. It seems to be that number 1 is a little easier to follow and number 2 may be a bit harder. I know I've been irritated when someone hasn't answered my text or picked up my call. Perhaps the solution comes down to balance and patience: putting the phone away, but checking it quickly every few hours to make sure there are no emergencies; and learning to be someone who doesn't need instant gratification with every communication we send. And maybe we should all just strive to have face-to-face personal relationships as much as possible. Thanks for the thoughts!
ReplyDelete(Though if others want to disagree . . . feel free!)
I definitely agree. It seems almost as if the person who is constantly texting doesn't actually want to be with the group; i find it pretty rude. What's worse is when those people decide to have hour-long conversations, but actually talking on the phone.
ReplyDeleteI think this is very rude too. The worst is when you are on a date with someone and they start texting. I thought this was kind of a myth and nobody was actually that rude, but then I went on a date with a guy who was texting his friend the whole time and then started texting another girl. I was upset and I pulled out my phone and texted too. It wasn't a very good date at all.
ReplyDeleteMy post was also about phones... and the addiction people have to them. I agree with both Blake and Amy in the ideas that balance is essential to solving this problem. It is sad to me that a lot of people find it hard to leave their phone behind for even a minute or two, because they might miss a text message. I also value face-to-face conversations. Not only do they eliminate the frustration when someone doesn't answer the text, but it allows you to make connections as friends and people in a way that electronic communications don't.
ReplyDelete