TEXT MESSAGING: THE NEXT STEP IN EFFICIENT COMMUNICATION

Text Messaging: The Next Step in Efficient Communication

While email isn’t headed to extinction any time soon, text messaging, also known as Short Messaging Service (SMS), is taking its place for many communications. Teenagers have adapted to it as their preferred way of staying in touch, and the hearing impaired also find the benefits of SMS attractive. The ability to use a cell phone or PDA to send messages has advantages for people on the go. Many schools use text messaging as an alternative way to contact parents in an emergency.

SMS began as an add-on business service, but use quickly became widespread as an inexpensive form of local and long distance communication. Text messages, up to a maximum of 160 characters per message, are a viable alternative to voice and email because they are private and require fewer airtime minutes.

The adaptability of youth to new technology is clearly evident in the way teenagers have flocked to text messaging as their primary form of electronic communication. While some bemoan the further decline of the English language by the “shorthand” required to stay within the character limitations (“LetsGt2gtha”), others say it’s simply a different form of communication, one that encourages creativity. They also point out that the explosion of text messaging means teens are writing more.

And while American teenagers typically lead in global trends, text messaging has been fashionable in Asia and Europe for several years. As today’s teenagers leave school and migrate to the workplace, text messaging will continue to gain acceptance in the workplace. It is inexpensive, fast and discreet. It is also useful for immediate access to a variety of information, from weather and traffic updates to breaking news, sports scores, stock trades, horoscopes and celebrity news.

Location-based features, utilizing Global Positioning Satellite Technology (GPS), allow users to be alerted to the presence of people on their “buddy list” in their area, or parents to keep track of their children. Finding a friend or a child in a crowded public space such as an amusement park would become much simpler by using a combination of the location feature and text messages.

Unlike email, heavy use of text messages can become costly for both sender and receiver, depending on the provider’s plan. A single message may cost a dime to send, and another charge to receive. This does tend to eliminate spam, however, and is another reason why text messaging appeals to individuals and businesses.

Business people on the go are quickly finding in text messaging a way to stay in touch without having to wade through multiple emails. They already have a text messaging device – their cell phone – and can use it in a taxi, at an airport or while waiting for a seat at a restaurant. Text messages can reach employees or colleagues wherever they happen to be – no need to wait for them to get to a desk or computer terminal. This can be of great value in emergencies, or for last-minute changes to contracts, bids and the like.

Text messaging expands communication opportunities for the hearing impaired, allowing them to use mobile phones for communication [ http://www.cell-phones-n-plans.com/26578-hearing-aid-cell-phones.html ]. This is a great leap in reducing the disadvantages of being hearing impaired, essentially allowing the deaf to “listen” to messages with their cell phones. For this reason, text messaging has become extremely popular among either hearing or speech-impaired persons, allowing them to expand their connectivity to the rest of the world.

Schools are finding in text messaging a way to improve communications and save costs. As much as 40 percent of a school's phone bill can be devoted to calls attempting to locate absentee students and to get substitute teachers on short notice. Parents can be reached without risk of a voice mail message that is erased, either accidentally or by the truant student. Text messaging may prove to be a tool that helps reduce absenteeism and increase parental involvement in schools. In addition, it can help ensure that schools are able to more efficiently locate substitute teachers, which can minimize interruptions in the educational process.

Every cellular phone carrier offers a text-messaging plan. Most offer a smorgasbord of options to meet individual or business needs. Those plans can include free text messages up to a maximum for a monthly fee (similar to airtime minutes) and fees for messages over that maximum. As with airtime minutes, it is advisable to carefully review the plans available and select one that best fits your use pattern. A plan with a low monthly rate, for example, may seem like a bargain, but if you go over the limit you may find it more expensive than plans that have lower per-message costs. A good way to look at text messaging costs is to think of them as airtime. If you have a plan that charges 50 cents a minute for airtime after you exceed your airtime limit, you want to be sure your plan allows you the airtime you need. As you make the change to text messaging, your airtime needs may decline.

When you shop for a provider, keep in mind that cellular service providers need your business. Carefully check all plans offered by providers, comparing and contrasting the various options, before choosing one. You may also find tempting introductory offers, but be sure that the plan makes sense after the offer expires and you are on standard rates.

Many businesspeople, teenagers, parents, schools and people with hearing and speech impediments have already caught on to the text messaging boom, because it works well for them as a cost-effective and timesaving technological advance. For many it has become a valuable tool, one they wouldn’t consider living without. If you think text messaging may make your life easier, you owe it to yourself to take advantage of the benefits it offers. It’s simple to use, and you can find online resources to help develop your text messaging vocabulary. Or, if you have or know teenagers, ask them to teach you.