You know what really grinds my gears; text messages.
I understand the fact that society relies on texts.
They make it easier to talk to one another, they are quick and the convenience does not hurt either.
I love the fact that just by using our thumbs we can communicate with those close to us no matter where they are and that we are always a text away.
Yet, what I do have an issue with is the corruption of text messages.
There is a chokehold that they have put on society because the language and meaning behind a text message is still a mystery.
What we are dealing with is a beast that no Catholic priest can save us from.
Soon we all will be under the curse of the dreaded text message.
I am sure you all have seen or at least heard of the movie “The Terminator.”
Well, just like that movie, I think that machines are going to rise against us and text messages are the silent assassins.
When we are having a face-to-face conversation with someone we normally can make small chit-chat without an issue.
The human element is gone now.
Emotions, tone, feeling are all gone. Text messages take away tone and there is no meaning to its written word. No, the monotone blankness of a text message is based solely on confusing us.
If we are confused, we become vulnerable.
Words do not even carry the same weight anymore.
Terms like “OK” do not just mean that you agree.
Text messages have incorporated “Okay” which means that person must really care because they took the time to spell it out.
We still have “OK” but we also have “K” which is the worst yet.
Text messages have a power that a simple letter “K” can mean your life is over.
This is never a good thing, ever.
Do not let people fool you.
In a relationship you do not want to get this.
Consider the letter ‘K’ to be poison. It slowly seeps in and then you are dead inside.
Words like “lol” and “haha” and “lmfao” have been created to fill voids when we no longer have things to say.
These words do not mean we are laughing in real life and in fact most “lol’s” are sent with a blank expression on the other person’s face.
These creations, ruin our speech.
We no longer feel the need to want to talk to people and instead, we find ways to escape it. Our lives are made of guessing games. Each day, we wonder who will text us and how that conversation will go.
The term “hey” could mean anything from “I want to start a conversation with you” or “I really want to talk to you and did not know how to start this conversation.”
Or, the classic “I hate you at the moment so you get just a hey,” so either way, one single word can carry so much meaning that make us unaware of what the true meaning is.
Smiley faces and frowny faces are used to convey meaning but even they get over used.
Are we really making that frowny face in real life or do we just feel it is sufficient for the conversation?
We will never know.
These phrases or “characters” used in a single form usually end with the other person lost for words.
Not in the way that I leave women speechless, but in the way that we have no answer to a smiling face.
It is “dumbing” us down as Americans.
With no feeling our sarcasm goes awry and issues become larger.
If the machines can take away our sarcasm, then that is a world I do not and physically cannot live in.
I am just saying, people, wait for it.
If text messages can cause so much pain and delusion wait to see what comes next.