Text or Talk, The Changing Way we Communicate
Texting is too easy, isn’t it? Especially with a smart phone. It’s also far less disruptive. You can receive a text anytime/anywhere without disturbing anyone around you, without anyone even knowing if you prefer.
Think airplane and you will probably agree with the value in that. Doesn’t it make you crazy when one person thinks the plane is his office, and talks in a regular (loud) voice, as if he (or she) is the only one there?
The time a text gives to to re-read, remember, and consider your response is also helpful in many situations!
Statistics show that over 30% now prefer texting, though around 50% still prefer voice, though I bet by the end of 2015 the numbers preferring text increase to equal if they don’t overtake phone calls.
Customer Service Made Simple
And what about dealing with customer service? 30% say texting over phone. If that includes live chat, I’m there. It is so much easier to live chat on my laptop than voice or text. Isn’t it nice when you don’t have to press 1, then 6, then 3, then 0, only to find you have to leave a message? Often hold times reach an hour for many companies. With live chat you get the feel of speaking to a real person, and you can ask all your questions until satisfied.
Statistics like these fascinate me. To see the effects on society of a simple, small device. True, it is not so simple these days either. What the computer has done to mail overall can be seen in the Post Office deficits. Now with the cell phone it will cause an increasing drop in service with the home telephone companies (landlines, that is). Where we will make up the loss of jobs is something to consider, but the trend is so established already that it will have to be dealt with as it occurs. That would be a good topic for another article.
Speaking of society, what effect will less voice contact have in our world?
Already we often see entire families out and about, with their faces glued to their devices rather than each other. We have virtual worlds online where we can be anyone we invent. Will less in person socializing have other long lasting effects we haven’t considered? It won’t be long before we find out.
These days I bet I’m 80% text over calls, maybe even more. What is your percentage?
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