Communication: phone or text?

[Sip]

This is one of the questions that has been on my mind for a while ... just wanted to get your inputs on this (as always, very appreciated ).

 

As more and more people are starting to have access to computers, do you think that the inefficient "live conversation" type communication that is done on a phone will slowly be replaced with more passive forms of communication like text messaging and email?

 

I know that the "phone", as we know it or some variation of it, will probably never disappear since certain people have this instinctive need to talk and talk and talk ...

 

... but for more "important" communications, such as asking certain questions, giving replys to questions, you know the more "meaningful" types of communication that humans have to do ... do you think that the more off-line and passive forms of communication will start to take over?

 

I don't know about others but I generally hate the phone ... all this "hello, how are you, oh I am ok and you, etc etc" preamble that one must go through to finally get to the real question is just so boring sometimes (NOT ALWAYS of course!)... and then, when the time comes to real questions, my mind almost never is ready enough to answer. I usually have to think about something before I answer which creates this long annoying and inappropriate pauses in the "talking".

 

With email, and some other text-based, or non-live types of communication, one can go straight to the point! Also, the person replying, can take his or her time and come up with a GOOD answer as opposed to try to whip something up right then and there ... like when talking on the phone.

 

So, this is what I would like to know. Do you dislike "phone" like communication as much as I do, or do you prefer the live human, right then and there, on the other end?

 

If there was an option to contact someone ... either through "email" or by phone ... which would you usually pick? Does it make a difference if that other person is a stranger, a friend, a close friend, or a family member?

[nairi]

Dear Sip,

 

Happy birthday! Hope you have a good time chatting (online) to your family and friends

 

Nairi

 

[ July 27, 2002, 03:08 AM: Message edited by: nairi ]

[Rubo]

Dear Sip, in my haste I did not notice the bithday cake.Happy birthday! jeese I feel bad now.I hope you had fun celebrating since I was not much of a cheerful person last night.

 

Nairi jan thanks for your post. I do not have the time now to answer but will get back to this subject later.

[Sip]

Thank you thank you!!!

 

You laugh now but you won't believe how much time my brother and I spend talking online when he actually is in the other room next door! My parents and certain friends are still not that technologically "inclined" but I am hoping it'll change soon It's not that they can't do it ... it's just this mental barrier they seem to have against change and new things (even though they may be much better than the old things).

 

No problem at all! I live everyday as if it were my birthday ... which probably doesn't say much!

 

[ July 30, 2002, 04:12 PM: Message edited by: Harut ]

[Harut]

let's see if i can get to the topic.

 

Sip, i think live converstations will not go away for a long time.

even though all those new cell phones promot their ability of sending and receiving messages, we are going towards improving voice, and now implementing video conversations.

 

the only posivtive thing about text converstion (besides the one that Nokia suggests: "save your voice" ) that i see is that we can communicate in different time frams. it's hard to find a time when two persons are free to talk. so one writes now, and the other on receives it when it's convinient for him/her (so i won't be called sexist).

but then, we now have so good voice mail systems that take care of that.

 

i think text conversation is just a temporary thing, until we will have sufficent techonology to have video forums, where i can recond myself, post here, and you will click and see me talking.

 

and finally why write when it's faster to talk? and why read when it's easier to listen?

[Sip]

Hmmmm Harut jan ... pretty interesting ... my original question was not really about text vs. voice vs. image but you have brought up a good point which made me think!!!

 

My initial question was about "live" one-on-one conversation vs. more off-line types (like you said ... record your video and play later like posting on a forum for example or even just email).

 

About text vs. voice vs. images ... I agree that voice is probably going to stay for a while. Not too many people can type but everyone knows how to talk (and many do it all too well ) ... the problem with voice and video is that they are not very easily editable ... if you make a mistake (who doesn't?), you have some problem in fixing it! With text, editing, rephrasing, changing, moving things around is almost too easy

 

About speed, I can pretty much type faster than I can think. I know I can definitely talk much faster than I can think ... which usually causes problems for me ... mouth getting too far ahead of thoughts!!! Almost everyone I know (including myself) has to really think for a while before giving a talk or a presentation on a new subject ... you can almost NEVER do it on the fly (very very few can however which is amazing!)

 

Just trying to find out what people in general think about the subject. I know probably 10 years ago everyone would have said ... "Are you crazy? Our house phone will live for another 100 years." But now, I don't think the answer is that clear cut ... but of course I could be awefully wrong

[Azat]

About 6 months ago my Earthlink DSL was down for about 8-9 days. I would have given up my phone for a month rather than my DSL connection for a week. I find text conversations to be less personal and much easier. One reason why email is considered the "Killer app" is because many in this world feel that same way.

[Kazza]

Hello Seaphan . Again like "auntie" Kazza (Like those doctors and uncles in the problam pages of women's magazines)with bits and peices of advice to give 2 u.

 

FIRST THINGS FIRST. If you are talking to a "taken" person (in a relationship) phonecalls ae still bad, phone texting is an ABSOLUTE NO NO. Even f you (like I have in the past) mean something totally innocent, for example are talking about work the next day, it could get him or her into a lot of trouble with the spouse. I personally think it's totally unfair because a lot of the time it's nothing like that, but just have to accept it as a social rule not to do. Otherwise you get calls like "kep your hands off my man, lady, etc" It's like, "i dont want your stupid man! you keep him darling, I want phoning for that! Well if they are only going out together I supose it's ok to call . I really don't know what came up with this stupid rule. I think it's because phone texts are considered a very personal thing, (and are easy kept private)and i think they may have been the culprit of a lot of affairs when they came out. I dont know. If you are going to phone-text anybody, make sure they are not attached. Well this is wha tit is lik e where i live nayway.

[Kazza]

If i was you I would use text messages to send very clear , direct, to the point things, like, Yes, I'll meet you at such and such a time in such and such a place. Not really for chatting in depth about complicated, or emotional things...because there could be miscommunication.. for example, the recepient may get the wrong end of the stick, get mad, not text back, but in a phone call , after the miscommunication they'll go, huh? what? and it's easier and qicker to explain. Do u see what I mean so far? These days, wiser and older, in this "text" culture, that's what i am more comforatble with doing. (I think textx are good for quick, easy, direct messages, especially if yu are in a busy noisy place where you phone is not meant to be on 4 example) they are fun, but I don't really think they are an altogether good thing as they are cracked up 2 b. Also are costly.

 

But enough of my mutterings on that subject. In England people ue textxs a lot that's why. When I was in America 4 years ago people hardly used thier "cell" phones to call in case of an emergency!

 

e-mails? I'm gnerally confortable with that.

 

Happy birthday BTW!

[Kazza]

If i was you I would use text messages to send very clear , direct, to the point things, like, Yes, I'll meet you at such and such a time in such and such a place. Not really for chatting in depth about complicated, or emotional things...because there could be miscommunication.. for example, the recepient may get the wrong end of the stick, get mad, not text back, but in a phone call , after the miscommunication they'll go, huh? what? and it's easier and qicker to explain. Do u see what I mean so far? These days, wiser and older, in this "text" culture, that's what i am more comforatble with doing. (I think textx are good for quick, easy, direct messages, especially if yu are in a busy noisy place where you phone is not meant to be on 4 example) they are fun, but I don't really think they are an altogether good thing as they are cracked up 2 b. Also are costly.

 

But enough of my mutterings on that subject. In England people ue textxs a lot that's why. When I was in America 4 years ago people hardly used thier "cell" phones to call in case of an emergency!

 

e-mails? I'm gnerally confortable with that.

 

Happy birthday BTW!

[Sip]

Very interesting perspective on the phone use "protocol" !!! They just don't teach stuff like that in schools

 

It is pretty amazing how text-messaging (or phone-text) has become so huge in places like Japan and even in Europe but the US is so far behind. But we slowly seem to be catching on.

 

One thing is for sure though ... with 3-rd generation (3G) wireless devices on the way and the 4G ones on the drawingboards, no one has any idea what the future is going to really be like! Just try to imagine anytime-anywhere text, voice, video, multimedia, and high speed data in the palm of your hand ... sounds cool but I still don't know what that is going to mean in terms of how we communicate.

 

... and as you said, all these complicated "rules" that we have may make things also very interesting ... like: "don't call me with the video but voice is ok as long as the bitstream is not more that 300Kbps otherwise my significant other will get too mad since we are dedicating too much bandwidth to our talking."

 

Hey Thanks!