The Brutal Honesty of Texting

“Don’t just text them, call them!” is a typical demand given by parents of children bearing cell phones. Adults can’t stand to watch their kids text, text, text and don’t talk. They don’t think those kinds of relationships are real. Studies prove differently however. A test shows that people communicate much more effectively and truthfully through texting. This came as a shock to many. You would think talking face to face would reveal much more honesty, but in reality, teenagers feel much more comfortable behind a screen, where no one can see them.

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/text-messaging.jpg

Personally, I didn’t find this surprising. I find myself to be much more truthful over the phone because it gives me more time to think before I send a message, when in person, people expect an immediate response. This could be both bad and good. When kids are honest over text, they’re brutally honest. No sugar coating. They think that when they have the chance to say whatever they want to someone without them seeing it, that they can literally say whatever they want. However, shy kids may take advantage of being honest over texting. They have more confidence when no one can see them. Overall, you need to be responsible for what you say over texting. Just because the person can’t see you, doesn’t mean you won’t hurt their feelings.

~Emily Peck

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