Without texting, what has happened to the written word? Is our daily communication eroding to the point of no return? What becomes of a language geek - a "word nerd" - when the form of communication that dominates all others, person-to-person, is text? Where is "Cor-ad-cor loquitur?" "Heart speaking to heart?"
Thanks to my hapless Samsung technology and my equally irresponsible carrier, AT&T, and a veritable 12-hour melange of head-scratching soiree fraught with tech "experts" and rampant excuses, a recent requirement of the Google Text app on my one-year-young Galaxy phone has virtually shut down my capacity to send or receive texts - except for spam. Spam gets through just fine, along with the occasional text from my sister. Everyone else, I miss your heart emojis, happy emojis, heart-break and prayer emojis. I miss the quick selfies, puppy stickers, and "I'm on my way!" I miss being able to send you notes of support, concern, happy birthdays, and congratulations. I miss the business I am losing by the minute. Mostly, I miss the feeling that text is the LEAST desirable way of communicating. Allow me to explain myself.
My training is in ancient languages, hermeneutics, linguistics and philosophy - especially rhetoric and logic, metaphysics and epistemology. That deadly combination made me a reluctant exponent of texting when it was first all the rage. Reducing communication to least-common-denominator swapping of instantaneous pictograms seemed abhorrent to me: e.g., shoot-from-the-hip responses, pixelated selfies, emojis, and acronyms designed for the ultra-lazy who eschew lengthy exchanges - "talk to you" (TTY) because... it's too cumbersome? It takes too long? LOL! "Impressions" in social media signal the number of times a piece of content is viewed by individuals or individuals multiple times - whether or not they engage, process, or might respond thoughtfully to that information in any meaningful way. My impression of "impressions" is that we get a free pass in Reading Comprehension 101. I feared the certain demise of modern language was right around the corner when texting was introduced - and then ordained - with our cultural imprimatur as THE preferred communication style. Person-to-person conversation was averted in favor of perfunctory digital salutes. I knew this was the case about 15 years ago when I called my then 20-something nephew to ask about a family gathering, and his response was, "Why did you call? I thought something was wrong!"
Now that I'm without texting capability, it seems my circle of communication partners is deepening. Not widening, but going deeper. When we are compelled to engage our families, friends, colleagues, clients, and acquaintances with our verbal and written communication skills on parade, our thoughtfulness, attention, and nuanced expression are paramount to success. Gone is the excuse that "I just didn't see that text, hear that ping, click on that link," etc. and thus, I am exonerated from a respectful, cogent, thoughtful reply. I can't dismiss my dialogue partner with a catch-all emoji, as though it (or multiple emojis!) could ever adequately express the soul of my affect. Without texting, I am reminded that a phone call, or better, an in-person encounter opens windows to the soul in ways a text message could not because we cannot read attenuating facial expressions, body language, and contextual clues to help us with the interpretive process.
Texting has its place. In a culture that values expediency as god, and requires sound-bytes for a zero-attention-span capacity of posthuman "thinking" and processing, texts require minimal effort, time, and concentration, so we can just "Git 'er done." "Be right back." Yep. "'Nough said."
For deeper communication, try conversational languages in oral format. Listen to Nature to learn how to listen well. Try "Cor ad cor loquitur" - "Heart speaking to heart." Take the time it takes to listen, understand, reply thoughtfully, and ask questions for the meaning in the gaps. It's really quite stimulating and refreshing, talking to one another with respect and logical coherence. Perhaps, become familiar with logic and rhetoric. Language is metaphor, meant to be malleable and adept at nuance and complexity, with many shades of meaning. Learn your hermeneutics with humility. The art of interpretation (hermeneutics) is crucial for a culture that requires greater attention to listening for meaning acuity rather than shouting louder with various informal fallacies on display - especially ad hominem attacks - and counting it as "communication." Seek to understand rather than proclaim. Ask questions out of curiosity and wonder, not to provide a springboard for attack. Practice great poetry and lyrics. Read great literature to evoke your deepest passions and to enable meaning and truth to surface and soar. Most of all, be humble and courageous enough to be vulnerable in your communication. Say, "I don't know." Say, "I admit I made a mistake." Say, "I'm sorry; I don't understand. Can you help me understand what you mean?" Say, "I'm listening." Say, "It matters what you're saying. It matters that it's your truth, and I'll hold it with utmost care until I can understand you better." Say, "I love you so much. Thank you for listening."
Now, talk to me. Just don't text right now. Talk to me. I'm listening.
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