Sms/text etiquette: How rude are you?

This post has been re-posted from my blog ’cause I thought you might find it interesting. Since I posted this blog I have noticed a sharp increase in politeness in texts which has left me with a warm sensation in my belly.

In the past couple of weeks I have found myself (rather amusingly) growing indignant at the way in which people send what seem to me rather impolite sms’s/texts. The problem is not that the sms’s are impolite but rather that the people who send them are not impolite people. In their day to day dealings they are pleasant, considerate and caring people yet (it seems to me) that their pleasantness or politeness doesn’t translate into their sms etiquette! Is to too much to ask for a greeting at the beginning of the text (heya) , an enquiry into ones well being (you well?), a little encouragement (hope the day is/was good) and any appropriate ending (peace…cheers…thanks)? Am i just being a friendliness glutton, wanting more from a simple text message than what it can give. Whatever the case is, there is one detail that I haven’t mentioned so far which could shed some much needed light on the dark, sordid world of poor sms etiquette.

As many of you know I live mainly with Americans and many of the said messages in question have been received from ‘them’ This begs the question, ‘are Americans texto-rudae, or worse so cheap that they want to make sure the text is trimmed of all relational excess to ensure the demanding 144 character quota is met? My heart and experience of my friends tells me that neither of these things are true. What alternative explanations are there? A few things began to emerge on my fact finding mission.

1. South Africa has an sms/text culture: According to my rigorous research, which included a few casual conversations and a concentrated time of reflection,we send texts far more frequently than Americans. I even encountered Americans who themselves or someone they knew had deactivated their ability to receive texts. Can you imagine a South African who is unable to receive texts? Woe to you, blasphemer! Part of Americans aversion to text messaging is because their service providers charge them to receive sms’s. Because of this, my friends told me they were much more likely to make a phone call than to send a text.
2. Text’s are a functional form of communication: It would seem that this is the assumption of some of the people who sent me those ‘trimmed’ messages. A text is simply functional: to get information, make a request,confirm an arrangement or arrange a time to make a phone call. If it achieves that end the text is ’successful’ and any other communication in the text is unnecessary. This is of course very different from my own usage of texts. For example about 70% of my communication with my girlfriend in JHB throughout the week is through text’s. Text’s in my world (South Africa in general?) go beyond a functional form of communication.

Armed with these two insights I am beginning to understand why I would perceive an sms as being impolite while my friends would see it as completely normal. I feel much better after taking the time to share these thoughts with you and let you into the complex world of sms/text etiquette. All that’s left to ask is what do you think? Should an sms include things like a greeting and an ending or is it only a functional form of communication? Is my indignation culturally conditioned or down right misguided? Is there something I haven’t seen?

The unintended consequences of abstaining from…electricity

No electricity folks. That’s right. For one full rotation of this lonely planet ,once a month, abstinence from electricity. That is one of our commitments we as a community have made for the year of 2009. This practice is driven by a desire to reduce our carbon emissions which is hurting planet earth and disrupting fragile (and sacred!) ecosystems. It creates the space for us to think about ways we can function and be without electricity for one day. It also functions as a symbol that we are committed to being part of the solution to preserving Our Home, God’s creation. It keeps us aware of the impact we are having on our world and hopefully sensitizes us to continually seek to reduce our consumption of electricity.

As we have begun to practice this we have experienced two unintended consequences from this abstinence. This first unintended consequence of abstaining from electricity is that with the lack of distractions created by computers, TV, music etc one can actually quite easily become quiet and meditation, prayer and the much needed rest we all need becomes a lot easier. How much of our energy is wasted on worrying about e-mails that need to be written or work that needs to be done on the computer? Even though we are over worked and tired and in desperate need of rest and solitude, how much time do we spend in front of the TV trying to ‘get some rest’ and then later feel guilty and equally (if not more) tired than when we first sat down. That is the beauty of no electricity days. They remove all these distractions and carve out a beautiful space for peaceful rest and restorative meditation and prayer. The second unintended consequence of abstaining from electricity is that you rediscover the lost art of conversation, of simply being together and enjoying one another’s company. I remember the first abstinence day we practiced. After some time we all managed to find ourselves outside around a table chatting. No e-mails, no TV, no music nothing. Just pure, unadulterated conversation it was great. Our hope is that you would begin to consider joining us in this practice (some people even do this once a week) as symbol of your commitment to restoring God’s creation as well as rediscovering distraction free rest and conversation. Be creative with how you use that day, eat a salad, play a board game by candlelight, read a novel, look at the stars…(fill in blank) do whatever. I am almost willing to guarentee that after an abstinence day you will feel much more rested than usual.

 We started these abstaining from electricity days because we wanted to be responsible stewards of God’s world. The irony is that originally we thought this would be a sacrifice. The truth however is that we have been blessed with two ‘unintended consequences’ which are actually gifts to us and our community. I suspect that this is somehow the way in which the economy of God works, full of ‘unintended consequences’ which we encounter and enjoy as we pursue the Way of Love.