The Lost Art of "Conversate-ing"

So...

My girls have expressed to me their opinions about text messaging and dating and they all feel pretty much the same way...

It is the quietus to real conversations with the opposite sex.

Yep, text messaging is the effectual end to communication in vivo. My girls' grievance (and it's a big one) is that men have lost their courtship ability to pick up the phone and actually participate in a thoughtful and meaningful conversation on the telephone line. It becomes annoying after the first two interchanges of text because at this point in my girls' minds it's, "We are both sitting at home... doing nothing... by ourselves... flipping channels... there can't be any better time than this to pick up the phone and have this conversation". And then if she attempts to call (which is rare by the way), he doesn't answer... But oh! What a minute... here's another text message from him five minutes later asking, "What is your favorite color?" LOL!

One of my male friends laughed when I told him about this communication conundrum that happens in the dating world. He tells me, "Well you know why men do this, right? It mitigates rejection, especially early in the dating game". And I say, "Well as long as a man knows that this texting behavior can also el-i-mi-nate that first date".

Why? Well, the problem with text messaging as a form of communication when getting to know someone is that... you really can't get to know them. And it is an apparently weak way of trying to get at a woman. Although text messages can and maybe should have its place in the communication exchange, it still can be a fallible way of conveying a point, a flirt, or a great first meet up because it leaves a lot of room for the recipient to interpret your message. Like, let's say a text that reads, "I would luv 2 see TGA hairdo. Come see me at the mall". Hmm... "TGA" does that mean "That Good A$$"? And if it does, is this his idea of flirting? He seems too comfortable using profanity without verbalizing a word. And he wants me to come to the mall? It sounds like he works there. Is this his idea of a first date? We're not in high school. How old IS he?... See where this can go?

And then I've noticed that text messaging does nothing but magnify grammar skills (and this is a big one for me). For example, because I already have a SERIOUS issue when I hear someone utter the word "conversate", it is almost a deal breaker when I see it in written form. All I do is scream at the phone, "I don't conversate, I converse, I CONVERSE!" Ugh. Another one bites the dust. LOL!

I can certainly understand my girls' points and tend to agree with them. But I have to say that all texting isn't bad. It can be quite useful actually when used in the right context and serves a specific purpose. When I think back on previous suitors, some of my best relationships and brokered deals have happened through text messaging. You know, like the dates who look better to you when they don't open their mouths and therefore, you text plan a movie date night for a blase' Saturday night. Yeah baby, no need to talk, "jst meet me at atl station. movie strts @ 7p. buy me pcorn". LOL.

And finally how can you not enjoy dirty texting? Especially in the middle of the day, while you're sitting in a boring 2-day training and then your phone buzzes with a message from your favorite friend that says, "U wanna drty txt me?" That interchange could go on for hours, get you through that long day, and then you're leaving work ready to do what you dared to text... Texting doesn't sound half bad now does it? Yeah, not sure what I was suppose to learn in training that day, but what I did learn from my textmate... Well, let's just keep that between me and AT&T. :) --SP