10 November 2012

Texting


I am slowly but still reluctantly adjusting to the SMS world. To texting. It is a place of super acronyms. Compressed sentences. Hyper abbreviations. LOL. BTW, OMG. OMG's adult cousin - WTF. The one I like & use the most.

I use it as a statement - WTF!

Or as a question - WTF???

I add ))) or (((( - or more !!!! or ????? as required for even greater emphases.

It gr8's m3 though wh3n numb3rs replac3 l3tt3rs in words. I find it annoying. It slows my reading down. But I have adjusted. I understand it. it's a busy world we live in. We like short cuts.

What I don't yet get is the insertion of happy faces and 'x's. I don't like them. ((((. The use and interpretation of these and other emotional icons often confuse me.  There are 29 versions of various faces and symbols I can insert in text on my Blackberry. Twenty nine! I have counted them.

I have a work acquaintance who often texts me. She inserts a happy face with a tongue poking out. What does that mean? A friend often replies to my witty one-liner responses to her (often bizarre) out-of-the-blue SMS questions with )))).

Sometimes more!

Occasionally a row of ( too.

Emotional magnification.

I have more recently noticed 2 a subtle shift in some SMS correspondence with another acquaintance. She is signing off now with an x. An 'x'!

This worries me. ((((

It disturbs me. ((((.

I don't know her that well. Is there an etiquette here? Is she sending me a message? Am I sending a message if I send one back? Or if I don't? With your Mum, your Nanna, your wife, your daughter. Or your GF!!!! It's clear cut and OK. You get an 'x' there and you give one straight back. Maybe a couple. But I don't want to get any signals crossed.

The next communique I might try a cautious response.

That won't be misinterpreted.

I will insert the happy face with a tongue poking out.

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