A BillsWeek Guest Entry: You had me at LOL

Turns out this old Boomer is not alone in adjusting to technology. Apparently changes affect Gen Y as well. This is Joey Halligan's second contribution to BillsWeek and I think there may be more. Stay tuned! - editor

I just received a text message from my father. It read: “Joey, I need tech support. Pls call me when you can. Love, Dad.” My father is 63 and texting.

As recent as three months ago, my cell phone plan included 300 text messages for an additional $5. That included incoming and outgoing texts. However, picture messages were a la carte - a whopping 25 cents each. In the last four years with that plan, I may have gone over in text messages once, and it wasn’t by much. Then I got swept in by the overwhelming text craze. Now my phone buzzes constantly throughout the day. Fortunately, I’ve switched to an unlimited text and data plan since then.

I never considered myself someone who couldn’t live without their phone, until the last few months I suppose. Yet I can’t say that I don’t enjoy the interactions, which often seem more like interruptions. At what point, however, does technology cross the line of keeping us connected into creating an addiction to stay connected? Seriously, do I need to know every time you use the bathroom or stop at a red light? By the way, I hope you’re not texting and driving in Colorado - that’s illegal now.

But when my phone vibrates and my best friend in Florida sends me the latest picture of her 2 year old son, I stop everything. Then another friend will send me a picture of an outfit at the store and asks for my opinion before buying. Then Facebook sends me my nephew’s status update letting me know he’s bored at home with nothing to do. Of course, I’ve only subscribed to five of my closest friends and family members’ Facebook status messages, anything more than that would be text suicide.

So when did personal conversations evolve into hours of text exchanges? I used to be the first to say, "Just call!" You can say everything you’re texting in a fraction of the time! Yet here I am, averaging 1215 outgoing texts in a month. Drop your calculator, I’ll do the math for you: that’s about 40 texts a day, not including the more-than-likely accompanying inbound text. Yes - that brings me to a total of nearly 2500 texts a month. And that’s now. Who knows what I’ll be averaging in 3-6 months. For all this, I blame three things: my curiosity, the curiosity of my closest friends, and a QWERTY keyboard on my phone.

So is texting really all that bad? If it causes a vehicular accident - yes. If it isolates you from all other forms of interactions with people around you - yes. If you answer a text in the middle of a meeting at work - yes. If used wisely, texts can be a quick way to stay connected and exchange quick thoughts. But when you slowly start to forget what your friend’s voice sounds like because you only associate them with the acronyms they send, you may want to snap out of it, and ask them out to enjoy a cup of coffee or a meal.

“Can u pass the salt? lol jk :-)”

Joey Halligan loves technology. Need tech support? You can reach him at JoeyHalligan@me.com.