Cell Phone Texting Etiquette

As a cell phone user and common text message sender and receiver for several years now, I've observed several traits, traditions, and routines that people tend to follow in using them. One increasingly more common habit that people seem to be implementing is texting. There are several reasons why cell phone texting is sometimes preferred as opposed to making an actual call. Possibly from convenience due to the ever growing makes, models, and manufactures of cell phones equipped with features that make texting all the more easy. Another possibility is the fact that people have come to realize they don't have to run the risk of getting inadvertently engrossed in an unnecessarily long phone call conversation. In today's world, people find it much easier to simply send a quick message to someone and wait for a response. This allows the person texting to communicate 'on the side', if you will, instead of completely disrupting what they are doing to make a phone call. In these texting situations is when a few simple cell phone texting etiquette guidelines should be practiced.

Primarily, and this guideline also applies to phone calls as well, the time of day the text messaging occurs. Many a night I have gotten text messages that are not important, irrelevant, or of little to no concern at the time that I received them. Texting someone late at night about issues that are unimportant at the current time is not only annoying, but can also be rude and disrespectful. A obvious solution to this would be to simply turn your cell phone off at night. However, the situation for many people including myself, do not have a land line phone and their cell phone is their only phone. This can be especially true for those that live alone. Should there be an important issue or possibly even an emergency, their cell phone is their main source of communication. If it is turned off, those that need to know about the issue or emergency immediately cannot easily be contacted, or possibly not even reached at all. Therefore, leaving their cell phone on at all times is important, and people should be respectful of the person by not sending unimportant messages to them, especially late at night. People desire uninterrupted sleep during the night and it can be very irritating and frustrating to get text messages while trying to sleep.

Another courteous guideline to follow is the length of the text message. Not everyone has the newer, high-tech cell phones of today, therefore their particular cell phone may not display the entire message of a text sent by a person with a more modern cell phone. Also, the message may not be displayed properly on an older or more basic model, mainly when using special characters in the text. This also varies according to the particular wireless carrier and even the plan that the individual may have. People don't want to read excessively lengthy text messages, especially those that are over multiple pages. Some advice to follow in this case is to keep your messages short, simple, and to the point. An entire discussion or long conversation should not take place over a series of several text messages as this is when calling the person is much more appropriate.

The issues that people text about are also a factor when it come to etiquette. One should not inform someone about an important issue, especially an emergency via a text message. This is another situation when an actual phone call, or even a person-to-person meeting depending on the situation, should definitely prevail as opposed to a text message. One also has to consider the personality of the particular person receiving the text as well. This is especially true when sending jokes, forwardings, and even picture messages, as this is something that can be greatly affected by the particular type of phone, wireless carrier, and plan that person has.

Another guideline to consider is who you are texting. This is also something greatly dictated by the personality of the particular individual receiving the text. For example, unless you have a more close relationship with your boss, you shouldn't necessarily be texting him or her, but calling instead, especially when it comes to small talk or unimportant issues. Some people get charged per text and texting something unimportant or irrelevant, particularly with picture messages, can be not only irritating but also costly to that person.

A final guideline to follow is when and in what situation you are texting. An obvious and ever increasingly more illegal and dangerous example is texting while driving. In many areas, it is illegal to text and drive, something becoming illegal in more and more locations as time goes on. This is extremely dangerous to yourself, not to mention those driving around you. Another obvious no-texting situation is while you're at work. Unless your job requires communication with those that aren't conveniently near you, texting should not take place while you're working. Even in such a situation, texting is most likely not the most efficient form of communication at the workplace. In jobs such as these, workers are commonly given 2-way radios or similar equipment that is less cumbersome to use other than taking the time to type out a text message.

In closing, the next time you are considering text messaging someone, please consider these simple guidelines and ask yourself the following questions: Is it the right time of day? Is this something too long to be sent in a text message? Is this too important for a text or too irrelevant to even be sent at all? Is the person I'm texting an appropriate person to communicate with through a text message? Is this an appropriate situation that I should be texting right now? Remember that we live in a society and that we should be respectful of others in every way. Technology is advancing rapidly. With these new technologies comes new responsibilities that should be practiced by all of us. Working together, we can all make the world and the society we live in just that much better to be a part of.