Texting 101 for old schoolers

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t seems nothing these days merits a good old-fashioned phone call. Texting has practically replaced ring-a-ding-dings and for many older folks, this newfangled type of communication ain’t easy! Life seemed simpler when all we had to do was pick up the phone, dial a number and speak.

The social aspect of our younger lives didn’t involve technology to the nth degree, but now we’re forced to get techie with it, ready or not!  Approximately 4.2 billion people text worldwide. Well, the forward march of innovation has left quite a number of us behind especially when it comes to delivering a bit of subtext via our cell phones. It can be difficult trying to teach an older adult how to text but with practice, effort and patience the task can get done.

Since texting boils down to immediacy and compactness, abbreviation is really key in getting your communication across to a receiver. There are lots of chat text abbreviations that can be used to save time when texting another person. According to search query data, the following abbreviations are the most requested chat definitions:

ROFL—rolling on the floor laughing

STFU—shut the freak up

LMK—let me know

ILY—I love you

YOLO—you only live once

SMH–shaking my head

SMDH—shaking my damn head

LMAO—laughing my ass off

NVM—not very much

OFC—of course

WBU—what about you

It is incredible to think that there are thousands of text abbreviations used in everyday life by folks all across the board. For example, doctors have their own text abbreviations that will not be used by someone who is a banker. Most people only know about a dozen or so general text abbreviations and a few more, are used by those who have similar interests.

It is hard enough texting long sentences especially if you hate typing. Most folks would prefer to keep it short and sweet if they have to send a text message at all. There is a general rule to texting, if there are more than three questions of the problems cannot be solved in three messages, then a phone call is warranted.

So basically, when texting, the only way to save it from the fate of an email or phone call is to keep it short! Remember longer messages deter people from responding or even reading at all.

And you have to be careful what you text. People can get confused as to what you exactly mean when texting. And sometimes auto-correct is no help. And once you send a text you cannot recover it. So make sure you read your text over before you press send. And most importantly make sure you are sending it to the intended person.

We may not be as text-savvy as the younger generation but the main thing when texting is to not be mean-spirited, have fun, and don’t be a slave to it!