Why don't Americans love to text/txt/sms?

And I think I subconsciously don't take seriously text messages in "txt," because of years on the internet.

(Also: Texting = harder than speaking = "YOU WON'T CATCH ME DOING THAT NERDY SHIT, ETC ETC")

this appeal just doesn't transfer to the phone. not sure why.

British people ARE obsessed. My text speed was incredible before I left. I shudder to think what it is now.

Also - my wife has AIM on her phone - wtf???

dan, surely you're wrong. we were more internet friendly as a whole before the rest of the world.

Also, the British only use text-messaging for anonymous sex, apparently.

Also because you could pick up the phone, say what needs to be said, and be done with it and get back to living in the real world instead of obsessively looking at your phone and typing little messages.

I think the luddite thing is a red herring; none of the computer geeks I know, professional or otherwise, text message very much.

i hate that their isn't regional dictionaries (ie, burritos not in pred. txt).

(But maybe text messaging is closer to "command-line level" compared to voice?)

alright, this thread has inspired me. i'm going to txt msg my crushboy.

mine's an old, ghetto-ass phone (my students and the old man who sweeps the floors at sh!ps have better phones than me) but it works with txt msgs. i think i get so many free per month.

let's see if the boy answers me.

kebab is in my friend's predictive text, which cracks me up.

haha, i never thought it would happen with such regularity but yep.

ps: lauren is a text-master. color me wowwed.

I don't think Americans are as drawn into techno-gimmicks as (in this case) British people. Ringtones, camera phones, texting - just never catch on as big over here. I couldn't believe my Rapture import CD came with a little card on how to get your Rapture ringtones.

I'm so sorry I typed that.

I've been text messaging a girl, but like, while I've mastered the preemptive word thing, where you hit each button one for the letter and it guesses the word you're typing, she's still doing the thing where to type "C" you have to hit the number 2 like three times, so our dialogues are like this:

she: feel ok?

me: yes, I went to the doctor and I'm healed, He gave me lots of pills, which is awesome and now I have to go to another doctor.

her: good

me: what is going on tonight? if you want to come to the party I'm playing records at, you will probably be bored, you can call me later

her: ok later

Seriously, if I'm getting the right impression then I'm with you. If I had a cell phone I'd always be texting.
Let me see if this is correct: I want to tell someone something, right, but the thought of calling them up and saying "erm hi i thought you might like to know that we've decided to go to restaurant Y instead of restaurant X, um, that is of course if you still want to come heh [LONG SILENCE]... uh, okay then I guess I have to go do, um, something. See you later! Or not, that's okay, okay bye!" is almost physically painful. It is (or would be) so much easier just to text: GOING TO Y. SEE YOU THERE.

One thing I've noticed on my Ericsson: when I "Delete All" texts, there are some texts w/a little icon next to them - it looks like a document icon from a Macintosh or something - and they don't get erased, they stick around. I have to go into the message itself, "proceed," and delete individually. I've read them already, as well. What does that little icon mean?!

I just text messaged people about buying markers to doodle with

The only people I could text in NY were Irish ex-pats.

I thought the opposite was true. I always turn it straight off. If you use text speeak you can easily fit in twice the content I reckon. Plus it's fun, like a crossword.

My lady friend begins every new round of text messaging after we've had a date with "hey jon" leading her first text. Discus.

iPhone text plans are some bullshit.

xp, i couldn't do that. i'm very blunt about my texting. hey ___ is usually unnecessary!

http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/brandnewday/archives/2008/09/texting_surpass.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_blogspotting

Texting Surpasses Calling Among Cell Phone Subscribers
Posted by: David Kiley on September 24
Nielsen just released data showing that U.S. wireless subscribers now send and receive more text messages than mobile phone calls.

The only virtue of txting is that it's less annoying than calling.

Getting txts, at least.

People still talk to fuckin' much, tho. Blah blah blah blah is just as tiresome in txt. Just shut up a bit about yr idiotic life until you come upon something actually interesting, willya?

My lady friend begins every new round of text messaging after we've had a date with "hey jon" leading her first text. Discus.

This means you need to do something to convince and reassure her that you actually do care enough to have put her number into your phone, and there is no risk that you'd get a text message from an unmarked number and just go "wtf, this must be addressed to someone other than me, Jon."

Or maybe not

The first post was not a joke, correct?

oh, for 2004.

California outlaws txting while driving.

I don't think I've ever addressed a person by name when I am txting them. Texting is OK but more than three texts ("Want to go out?" "Sure let's meet at 5" "OK see you then") is too much for me.

I finally got unlimited texting and I've sent more in the last three days than in the rest of my life combined.

Nabisco OTM. On our last date she told me that she didn't think that I was going to call her again…!

iPhone text plans are some bullshit.

― sad man in him room (milo z), Friday, September 26, 2008 3:17 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

tru

They'd be shit even if they were MMS (lol)

Ahahaha. Welcome, America, to the overhyped world of texting.

I read her greeting as HEN JOY.

You should sit on a tram/train here, seriously, like 60% of the people will have their thumbs glued to their phones SMSing people. But you can get cheap plans with unlimited messages, so I can see why.

And at least txt means you dont have to put up with people on public transport talking VERY LOUDLY INTO THEIR PHONESand having some painfully personal conversation no one wants to hear. Why do people do that shit? It makes me want to butt in and have an opinion on what they're saying. After all, they obviously dont care that everyone else knows they fucked some ugly guy last night and then vomited into his bathtub.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill Wednesday that will prohibit California drivers from text messaging beginning Jan. 1. He signed Senate Bill 28, authored by Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, that bans the use of an electronic wireless communications device to write, send, or read a text-based communication while driving a motor vehicle. There will be a fine of $20 for a first offense and $50 for each subsequent offense.

oh shooting a cyborg in a lorry massive gun whilst on a bike is fine, but texting while driving is not!

Txting/talking on mobile phone while driving's been an offense here for some years now I think. As it should be.

$20, i think it's about $225 in Australia.

well in Queensland anyway

Unless there's...I dunno, a meeting, a sensitive situation, just call! Anything else feels like we're playing weird cutesy high school games. Calls don't cost much What's not to talk about?

sometimes all you need is a quick answer to one question, no need for a full conversation

Calls cost loads here until recently. I think that's why texting took off so long ago.

Yeah I got that impression as well, though I'm not sure how it bears out in practice, when you think people can get into a sms fest, so 10c per text adds up to more than a 5 min call. But again, I guess the free text thing helps.

Calls are absurdly expensive here, and texts are not. If you want to reach me on my cell, please txt. Even though my new phone's txting interface is ass.