Talking or Texting?

I recently did some research on communication. Not that I had to, but just to provide more insight. There are basically three ways people can communicate: verbal, non-verbal (body language), and written communication. So if I want to know what someone is thinking or how they’re feeling, I need to use one of these three methods to get that information from them. Even though I feel some people think that they can communicate telepathically, and just derive thoughts and feelings from people’s brains… let me tell you a secret, people are not aliens. Telepathic communication doesn’t exist 🙂 . They’re just making assumptions.

Since I’m very expressive, and like most people, I use all three ways to communicate. But, my preference will always be interpersonal face-to-face communication (which is both verbal and non-verbal). I love being able to look someone in the eyes, being close to them, listening to their tone of voice, seeing how they react and respond to me. It’s the most vibrant form of communication in my opinion.

I recently had a dialogue (through text) with a friend on how I value a relationship. First of all, I feel like just the manner of how she communicated with me let’s me know that we don’t share the same values, as I would never express any feelings close to my heart through text. Just as texting a flower emoji to someone is not the same as sending real flowers. Like I’m not going to engage in texting marathons with someone… if someone has something important to say to me, they would call or come by my place.

It’s like who would ever go attend a lecture by Bill Gates, if he just had his picture up on a screen with his lecture notes scrolling down on a PowerPoint presentation. People go to his lectures not just to get an outline of his speech, but more so to see him, hear his voice, and feel his energy.

Or who pays to read the song lyrics of Michael Jackson’s albums? A song is more than just the song lyrics, it is transformed into much more depending on who’s singing it. Not that poems or song lyrics are worthless, it’s just that I much more enjoy listening to a live performance of a song, rather than read the song lyrics on my phone.

So… am I crazy? Does the world I live in prefer texting over talking? Do I really care what other people think? … I know a lot of people lead busy lives, so they prefer texting. It’s not that I don’t text, I do on occasion. But, I will always prefer talking.