breaking up over text message

Though McGrath 's candid disgust of the use of text messaging , namely at the thought of divorcing someone via text message , is well founded , his position is not entirely favorable . Granted that technology has made it easier for anyone able to use it and everyone who does use it not to have to think too hard about their actions , but the author does not address any of the benefits of text messaging , and indeed from his article it is easy to suspect that McGrath does not communicate via text message rarely , if at

all . There are benefits to the disadvantages , pros to the cons , which McGrath fails to mention , something that makes his argument compelling upfront and not so compelling after a few readings Has McGrath never had to ask a girl on a date ? Has he never called palms sweating , only to hang up at the sound of her voice on the other end ? Has he never missed out on a possibility because he was just too nervous to put himself out there ? It seems that , despite what it can be and is used for , text messaging tones down the awkwardness of adolescent interaction and makes communication easier , even if it is not more productive . It is far easier to send a quick text message to a person I like than it is to contemplate calling , and the message itself implies an interest in that person , which presents a gateway for further communication if the message is reciprocated . It allows ample time for both parties to contemplate whether or not to continue the conversation or to forfeit it

McGrath is justified in his disgust at the possibility that the language of text messaging may massacre the English or any given language beyond recognition . Here McGrath may be out of touch - part of an older generation finding itself more and more obsolete , whose perspective is becoming more and more irrelevant . The onset of text messaging language , evolved from e-mail and Internet chat room language may be symptomatic of a shift in the English language altogether , the way it changed from Old English to Middle English and so on . But I am not a linguist . I am merely open to the possibility of change , and the thought of Nw Eng is not such a bad idea

People may be breaking up with each other over text message , but it seems safe enough to say that people will also be a few button-pushes away from speaking to their mother . Whereas calling home always seemed a chore , now it is as simple as telling Mom what 's going on in life via text message , an ongoing dialogue over days or weeks as opposed to one two-hour telephone call every week or so . I will grant McGrath the point that many if not most text messages are arbitrary , but that does not lead to his conclusion that all text messages are arbitrary . It seems that because of all the cons attributed to the text...