The Varying Types of Communicators When Texting

Texting has become such a common tendency in the everyday lives of the younger
generation. After conducting a survey Smith writes, "83% of American adults own cell
phones and three-quarters of them (73%) send and receive text messages" (Smith). It is so
easy build an affinity to our cellular devices, to confine in friends and family through a
pixilated phone screen, that the idea of judgment is rarely visited. As humans we tend to
classify peoples characteristics and habits, even when these habits are expressed via an
electronic device. Each and every time you pick up your phone to respond to your family
or friends, you are being classified by your texting personality into one of four categories;
the aspiring author, the icon addict, the one word responder, and those who straight up
fail to launch. Your texting personality is how others classify your texting habits; what
you choose to say and how you say it matters to those who classify avid texters.
The aspiring authors. These ebullient people write long responses, regardless of
the conversation. They believe that every single thought they have in that instant can be
compressed into a single text. These authors tend to practice their monologues and rough
drafts in text form. Imagine asking your mom a simple question and getting a novel back
in response. There was no need for it but she still decided to debut her novel in response
to a simple question. She might have added everything that happened in her day to the
text but failed to answer your question.However, because messages arent cut off at 160
characters, people like this are unstoppable (Toole). The aspiring authors are hard to
escape especially when you live with a lot of them but you simply must deal with it.
These people are determined to make you read their life story in a text. Warning! These
people tend to cause heart burn as digestion of word vomit tends to be tricky.
The icon addict. This is the person who majored in emoticons as a foreign
language. The one who cannot type haha without proceeding to follow it with three
laughing-face-crying emojis because frankly, a haha just wont suffice. For some of
you, this definition may apply to your parents who newly discovered the vast world
known as emojis. With every bland topic of texted discussion is six perfectly themed
emojis to follow. These callow texters tend to think that there is never a wrong time to

respond with an over exaggerated icon rather than words. As for those who have a hard
time grasping the concept of expressing emotions with pictures rather than words, texting
with emojis can become quite frustrating. In an article written by Alice Robb she talks
about how emojis can become binding, even if it seems they can express a variety of
moods with ease (Robb). Upon receiving a text containing a comment, an icon addict
may respond with a smiley face as if that is enough of an opinion in itself to satisfy the
sender. Instead, all it does is invoke further curiosity and discussion. Not only does this
category contain the people who use emojis freely and with abundance but it also
incorporates those who feel compelled to tell stories comprised solely of emojis. This
becomes difficult however, as a sequence of emoticons can serve as a way to defile the
story and allow for many different perceptions. Like most drugs, emojis can prove
harmful when digested in large doses. The icon addict simply cant get enough.
The one-word responders. These people believe that it is a good idea to respond to
a text with a single word. When they feel up to it, they might even respond to a text with
a simple K because its too much of a hassle to type out a sentence. A prime example of
this is when you text your friend an amazing plan that you have made for the two of you
and all you receive as a response is Okay. After you spent four whole minutes picking
out the perfect verbs and emojis to use, they dont even respond with Awesome, sounds
fun or Im soooooooo excited!!!.Seventeen magazine, the bible for teenage girls said,
expecting them to write back something genuine, and all you get is a one-word response.
#REALLY? (Harris).Everyone has encountered these communicators and has suffered
from their perfunctory responses. Although you cant escape them, you can prevent
yourself from being one of them. If you want others to enjoy texting you, avoid joining
the laconic response club.
The failure to launch communicator. These are the people who are not garrulous,
and never reply back when you contact them. You will try contacting them with a
question or just an occasional hello and they will never answer you. You wait, and wait,
and wait some more for a response that will never come. Then later you will see them
chatting like crazy on social media. These people need to be avoided when texting. They
cant even be bothered to respond to your friendly hello! Save your time, dont attempt to

even initiate a conversation with them. "In the olden days you would call someone,
leave a message on their answering machine and they would call you after they received
the message . . . Now, when you call someone, you try their house, you try their cell. Still
no answer." ("Why Don't You Answer Your Phone/texts/messages?") It is next to
impossible to classify these people into any other category when they dont even provide
you with a single text to base your judgment off of. In this technology advance era people
don't feel a sense of urgency when answering back to a text message, it's not a mandatory
thing ergo, they fail to launch.
While texting is considered the best way to talk to one another, and we have
definitely come a long way, theres still a long way to go (Toole).Texting habits vary from
person to person; whether you are the aspiring author, icon addict, one-word responders,
or the failures to launch everyone fits into a certain category. While some people are
egregious texters, they will soon learn the key to texting.

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Works Cited

Harris, Kristin.8 Seriously Annoying Texts That Make You Want To Scream.
Seventeen Magazine. 21 Oct. 2014. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.
Robb, Alice. How Using Emoji Make Us Less Emotional. New Republic. 7 Jul. 2014.
Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
Smith, Aaron. Americans and Text Messaging. Pew Research Center. 19 Sep. 2011.
Web. 16 Nov. 2015.
Toole, Connor. 12 Annoying Text Messages That Make You Hate Life Any Time Make
Any Time You Get Them. Elite Daily. 7 Oct. 2014. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
"Why Don't You Answer Your Phone/texts/messages?" Young Island. The Dolan
Company, 2015. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.