Texting v.s. Calling

It is incredibly common in life today to see more and more people texting one another than calling them. Most people prefer texting, as it provides a few more options in communication than speaking, but it also loses some things that a call has. Whether you like to call people or text people, you are still communicating with them in one way or another, but which is better? Neither, both have pros and cons, and some people prefer one over another. The environment is also another factor. Are you able to call where you are? What about the people around you, or even the person you are trying to talk with?

Calling someone has been around for a long time, since 1876, but texting has existed even longer, since humans have used words or pictures on any surface, in a sense, like a caveman cave paintings. That may be a poor example, but at the very least, humans have been texting, just very slowly, since 500 B.C. Texting allows a little more than what a call can offer. Pictures on standby that can be sent almost instantly, and messages that can be sent, and received at any time. You don’t need the other person there to start a conversation. People are also a lot more likely to pick up a text message over a phone call. In a work environment, texting is quite handy, you can be scheduled for work at any time your boss desires, and you don’t even need to talk to them. My final point is that texting can enable a big group of people to communicate with each other a lot easier than a call. A con of the text is that it is just that, a text. If you don’t know someone very well, then a text could come off the wrong way. Sarcasm, for example, doesn’t come out right when it is not verbally heard. As I said, unless you know the person, you don’t know the true meaning of what they are saying 40% of the time. (That number is arbitrary).

Calling someone has advantages over texts, for example, you can hear the changes in someone’s voice, you can tell if they are being sarcastic, or with a good ear, if they are lying. That is not something that comes out of a text. Calling someone allows a more personal, or a deeper connection with them because you can actually hear their voice. Calling someone ensures that they receive your message as soon as you say it, though it requires the other person to pick it up. Calling somebody does not allow you to send messages unless you face time, but it allows you to talk quicker than text. In texting, between the time it takes for the message to send and be received, and the time it takes to type the message, conversations can go slow, especially if you have a poor connection. Calling only requires picking up, then you essentially face to face. Calling does have a big hurdle though, and that is picking up the phone. I at least, and many others I am sure, do not like to pick up the phone and will mute, deny, or just ignore the call. This is not something that texting does. It is unintrusive and allows you to respond at any time you like.

Now a question, “Should the expectations of texting vs. calling change as we enter our adult life?” Yes. I am not quite familiar with bosses and messaging, but I believe that texting should become more common-place among adults, vs. calling, as texting is generally more versatile. I say this, yet admittedly, I don’t completely know if more adults text than call.

In conclusion, I believe texting is better than calling, though calling does have its benefits, and texting should be more popular among adults. Calling, while beneficial, won’t always be picked up, whereas texts can be ignored, you can be sure the text went through, and that there is some chance the recipient will see it.

“samsung phone” by Sean MacEntee is marked with CC BY 2.0.