Texting Etiquette: The Do’s and the Don’ts

Texting Etiquette: The Do’s and the Don’ts

With our cellphones practically glued to our hands these days, it is always important to take a step back and remember the simple etiquette do’s and don’ts of texting.

• Do use emoji’s: Who doesn’t love a little smiling face or perhaps even a wink.  Emoji’s have become a great way to show emotion via text without having to say anything at all. Using emoji’s while texting is a simple and fun way to convey emotion without even having to say anything at all.

• Do always respond: Once that text message has been sent, there is nothing more rude than letting your fellow texter hang in a waiting period with no response. Even a simple “OK” is better than no response at all.

• Do put your phone down: We are all guilty of sitting down for dinner with our friends, with our head down staring at our screens. Just remember that it is important to sometimes put the phone down and have an actual conversation with whom you are with. You can still check in on Yelp, tweet about how amazing the meal is and even post a photo on Instagram, so everyone can see. Just don’t forget that your friend is there to actually have a conversation with you, not your phone.

• Don’t fight via text: There is nothing worse than having a fight or strong discussion via text message. Everything will get misconstrued and the person on the other end will most generally always misinterpret what you were trying to say. Whether you have an attitude or not behind the phone, the person you are texting, will read the text in the mood they are in at that moment, regardless of what you meant.

• Don’t use all caps: The use of all caps creates an angry tone, no matter what you are saying. Even if you are trying to be positive, the USE of all caps can turn your HAPPY message INTO an ANGRY message.

• Don’t Text and Drive: This rule may be the most important rule to remember! It seems like wherever you look or what radio stations you are listening to, there are messages reminding us all not to text and drive. While we all think we are expert drivers, the statistics don’t lie! In 2011, at least 23% of auto collision involved a cell phone, which is 1.3 million crashes, in that year alone!

With the ease of sending a text, its no wonder we are so glued to our phones and it has become THE way to communicate. When sending a text, let’s not forget these simple Do’s and Don’ts, and especially remember to put your phone down while driving. You can even be a part of AT&T’s “It Can Wait” and pledge to not text and drive here: https:// www.itcanwait.com/pledge