the other day, my friend leila and i were talking, and in the middle of our discourse, there was the occasional *beep *beep vibrate sound that is associated with the receiving of a text message (well, i guess it depends on your carrier... other variations are *beep vibrate *beep or vibrate *beep *beep... or the simultaneous *beep vibrate). naturally, we began to talk about text messaging for a couple of minutes and it got me to thinking.
what did we do before texting? luckily, i've been able to witness such extraordinary events in my lifetime... michael jordan, the double-popped collar, a new millennium, and the dawning of the text message, and in saying that, i am implying the cell phone in general. i remember eighth grade, graduating class of 2001, no one in my class had a cell phone. at the time, AIM (aol instant messenger) was the means of communication between friends. sure, we would talk on the phone sometimes, but it had to be the house phone and at the time, some people needed their line to be free for internet purposes, or they didn't have call waiting, or if they received a call, their internet would cut off... it's actually pretty funny to think about it now. anyways, i got a trip to the philippines as a gift. in the summer of 2001, i headed over there and had my first encounter with the cell phone. quick side note: sure, i'd seen then them in the movies (the most famous one being the one from the matrix that morpheus had that slid down when he pressed a button... badass! oh, and those mirror glasses that somehow stayed on his face without falling off despite not having any ear rests), but this was a personal encounter. given that the far east is so technologically advanced, at that time, everyone already had their own cell phones. i remember watching all of my cousins dialing away, or what i thought was dialing. in fact, it was texting. i was so intrigued by this. so intrigued that when i got home, i demanded my own cell phone. i got it, along with a badass package, i think something like 200 minutes and 100 text messages a month. however, the fad had not hit the states just yet. luckily, i had AIM on my phone so i could still be in the loop. i remember trying to text friends and they'd respond, dude, just call me. really? because all i have to ask is what the geometry homework is which takes, what, 15 seconds... but t-mobile doesn't see that as 15 seconds... that's a minute to them. so bam, i'm left with 199 minutes. i was about to give up until the trend finally arrived, along with some of the most hideous phones.
so, i repeat, what did we do before texting? it's amazing to think about. texting is a way to have a continuous conversation throughout a morning or even an entire day. as opposed to talking on the phone when it's live, there is no pressure to break the awkward silence. the lulls in texts could be due to anything... maybe you get something to eat, maybe you grab a nap, maybe forrest gump is on... but you can text right back and pick up from where you left off without skipping a beat. talk about instant gratification. also, there's something about a text message that a person just has to read it. a person doesn't have to pick a phone call up, in fact, they can just send that sucker to voicemail... however, i guarantee you, if they get a text message, they'll read it and either respond or not. as i said, there's something about that characteristic *beep vibrate combination that just forces a person to check their phone. if not, then your phone is on silent!
happy new year and thanks for reading.
-jdv
