The Age of the Text

It's interesting how trends and technology have similar development cycles. I remember when ostentatious belt buckles and ballet pumps used to be all the rage. Where are they now? There have been so many technological developments that have sprung up only to be swallowed up by the advancement of innovation. I remember when fax machines used to be all the rage. People had them in their cars. People broke up via facsimiles. People made deals over them. I won't even talk about PDAs or two-way pagers. 

But now we're in the age of mobile communications and the text is the Clown Prince. Or should that be the crown prince? In this age communication has to be short and quick. If not, the audience is lost and with it message credibility. In many ways this convenience has meant that text messages have become the primary mode of expression for certain groups of people. So it has found a way to be both concise and emotive. Thus the SMS has brought to the fore text-speak and emoticons (smileys). 

In many ways text-speak and emoticons are the perfect crossover between making a point and saying nonsense. For the person sending it the message can be emphatic and prompt. The person receiving it can either grasp it or spend the next fifteen minutes sending messages back and forth trying to get the point. Text-speak has become the perfect vehicle for equality. Anyone can be in on the trend. It helps cover up illiteracy and doesn't come with a posh accent. In fact many people have started to think in text-speak.

I have nothing against abbreviations. Half the time they are the perfect excuse to ignore some nonsense someone is spouting at me. 

Emoticons do rub me the wrong way occasionally though. Particularly when people use them as to respond to issues rather than just for emphasis. There are so many of them out there now that it isn't possible to keep up. So they end up being meaningless when used arbitrarily. I remember when emoticons used to be the highlight of using Yahoo! Instant Messenger (another trend that has bitten the dust). 

Love or hate them the text message and all it's expediences are here to stay. So I'll just have to keep enduring them, and snap occasionally when I receive the odd befuddling emoticon.