Text Me

You know that old cliche that pictures tell a thousand words? Such statements form on tongues because they're frequently true and experienced by a wide audience. But sometimes they don't capture all the facts do they. Because the thousand words are created by the viewer. There's a name for that--subjectivity, whereby the perception and story belongs to the thinking subject rather than to the object of thought. And think of how our moods and attitudes influence our notions--our very nature is egocentric and sometimes we get it wrong. This is the problem with texting, where one can't see and hear the tone and expression of the sender. Emoticons can only go so far. Whatever we are feeling is exactly how we interpret a text. Think of all the misinterpretations that arise if this is our only mode of communication. More and more our society is relying on this medium and others like it that reject the humanness of things. What we gain in time we give up in understanding, in self expression, in truly connecting with others. I'm guilty of this myself--I've succumbed to texting more than making phone calls. I held out on getting a cell phone for a long time, was the last of my friends to finally get one. And I didn't get a smart phone until a year ago, didn't text all that often until 6 months ago. I've always been resistant to technology because I felt it took away from appreciating nature. And yet here I am and I will keep on texting. But I've learned that whenever I receive a text that stirs some emotion that I don't find pleasant, instead of stewing and responding with an equally negative emotion-laden text I will put the damn phone to my ear and make the call, will use my voice. Let's be clear with one another.