Greg Morgan
The Out Voice
We are living in the times of Generation X and the instant gratification nation.  We are young, we are smart, and we are impatient. We have lost the value of what it means to wait. We’re not even waiting ‘till we’re adults to have sex. Recent polls say that on average adolescents become sexually active at age 12, but something even more prevalent in our everyday lives is our need to constantly communicate with each other. True, we all know of the conveniences of texting. One doesn’t have to wait for the recipient to pick up the phone to relay the message, just send it and it’s out there.
Text messages can be silent and sneaky, especially when you’re in that general education lecture course that has nothing to do with your major. Texting is fun, easy, and convenient but where should the line be drawn?
We’ve all heard of the infamous text message break up. There’s even a music video about it on You Tube, but is that kind of behavior representative of what we want people to see when they examine our generation? I know I don’t, and on a personal level it’s not fulfilling either. My last relationship consisted of mostly text messaging and it felt as though I was dating my phone instead of a person. If you really care about someone, wouldn’t you want to be there for them to make sure that they knew exactly what you were trying to say? The message it sends when you don’t say certain things in person is: I don’t care enough about you to say it to your face. I certainly hope that’s not the case because that’s a whole other can of worms.
It’s not just text message break ups causing problems. You should never tell some one you love them for the first time via text messages. Even if it was just joking it can be easily misinterpreted. Text messaging isn’t the problem, the fact intimacy can’t be sent through Verizon is (especially when you say things like “I luv u”).
Even with your friends, some conversations need to be held in person and it’s up to us to determine what those coProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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ersations are. If you need to tell your friend class is canceled that’s one thing. But if you need to tell them that a mutual friend  had passed away the previProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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s night in a car accident, that at least deserves a phone call.
When it comes to talking to my friends, the main reason I talk to them isn’t just because I want something to do when I’m ignoring my professor’s lecture. It’s because I care about them, and there is something so personal and special about hearing someone’s voice that shouldn’t be over looked. The fact of the matter is that the time when passing notes to ask someone out on a date being socially acceptable have passed. If you weren’t aware you should have grown out of that after middle school. Text responsibly. It’s not always about cProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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venience; sometimes it’s just about respect.
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gmorgan@mesastate.edu