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Texting

Texting (or text messaging) is quickly becoming the prime communication method for younger generations.  And while some may miss the days of picking up the phone and calling someone, there are undisputable advantages to texting.

What It Is

Texting is a quick, text-based message sent directly to someone's cell phone. You type the message using your phone's keypad. For this reason, text messages are generally only a few sentences (160 characters) long. They can be sent to one person, or multiple people.

Why Use It

Texting is quick, easy, and discreet. It is the latter of these qualities that makes it the go-to method for so many people.

• It's subtle – you can send your friend a text from work to say you're running late without alerting your co-workers to your plans and without the threat of a long, obligatory conversation.
• It's quiet – you can text someone from a movie theatre, restaurant, or elevator without disturbing the people around you.
• It's sound-proof – if you're in a noisy area, you can text someone without having to scream and you can read his/her response rather than straining to hear it.
• It's on record – everyone has trouble remembering phone numbers or directions. With text messaging, there's no pen or paper required.
• Instead of having your friend call you with her vet's number, have her text it to you.
• Then it's there for you to read and reuse until you decide to erase it.

How It Works

• Check your plan – depending on your cell phone plan, text messaging could be free, or it could cost a dollar or two per text. Check with your carrier to see how much texting costs. Many carriers will add an unlimited text option to your existing plan for a small fee per month.
• Open a new text message – most modern cell phones have a "messaging" section in their menus. Within this section there is an option to send a "new message."
• Depending on the phone, selecting "new message" will drop you directly into a new text message, or
• you might have an extra step in which you'll have to select "text message" as the type of message you want to send.
• Decide who you want to text – you'll have to provide the phone number you want to send the message to. If you have contacts saved in your phone, you can pull a number from your contact list.
• Write your message – once you've selected a phone number, it's time to write your message. By pressing the buttons on your phone's keypad (2 for A, B, or C), you can type words.
• If you're trying to type the word "bye," you would press 2 twice to get to "B," then 9 three time to get to "Y" and then 3 twice to get to "E."
• Most phones have a "word" or "T9" option that will figure out what word you're trying to spell and complete it for you. So instead of pressing each number multiple times to get to the letter you want, you only have to press 2, then 9, then 3 and the phone knows you want the word "bye." To do this, your phone has to be set to "word" mode rather than "Abc" mode.
• Many phones have preset phrases, called "quick text," that you can select for your message. These are commonly used phrases like "What're you doing?" or "I'm running late," and can be found under your text message "options."
• Newer phones may have a full keyboard, as do all Smart Phones, so that you can select letters and other symbols with one touch for each character.

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