Texting Mania in the Philippines: a Bad Habit or a Fun Outlet?

The latest craze that dominates our delicate planet.

Jazz. Pop. Classical. Rock n’ roll. R n’ B. Even the music of long forgotten artists. Once, only in the components, now it became the familiar noises snarling in cellular phones. The never ending ringing and blinking of the miniature gadget is absolutely fabulous.

Well, it offers many benefits. And many troubles too:=).

However, it summarizes one convenience – easy communication. The unreachable fellow is now 7 figures away and the spooky post office is beginning to look like a dusted museum because writing letters is now considered “outdated” that belongs to the dark ages.

Sizes, units and ring tones, defined the owner’s identity, tastes and preferences-in other words it gives more character to the “bearer” and enhances one’s appeal ( yuppy!). People think you belong to the T-Rex and the gladiators’ generation if you don’t own one, so individuals from all walks of life-from garbage collectors, metro aid, carpenters, side walk vendors to office personnel and top executives-scrambled to have one. The smaller the better.

Then 40 percent of our precious time is being devoted in sending naughty messages, forwarding emotional phrases that sound like medieval poets rose from their graves. Even the chained letter- inspired messages have their share of “rounds up”. Things like “forward this message or else suffers a bad luck in the next 24 hours” grrrr!I sometimes growled.

But what is amusing in this latest trend is the way it sinks to people’s mind. The crazy little games called text mates. Funny and groovy and whatever. But it click and click and click to the fun loving Filipinos. The pleasure for not being seen added to the delights of texting habit without being obliged to extract a boring facial expression. There are people who stammered and suffered nervousness that texting seems an ultimate freedom and a perfect get away to talk. In the Philippines it became a favorite hobby that turn into a national past time. The marvelous Pinoys did not care a bit if the economic crisis flung across the pacific ocean so as long as texting is the name of the game.

It’s pretty exciting because you can talk endlessly without being mortified, you can be a brat or an impossible fellow without being punished, you can express words that are hard to utter in a face to face conversation. Filipinos are species known to have a sweet habit of thoughtfulness and caring and God knows what else. So cellular phones are now an excuse for not extending those sweetness and tenderness in person instead sending chocolate-coated and rose scented messages through the air. At first it was baffling but then as the 21st century approaches, it becomes a natural phenomenon.

The first time I owned this appealing, sleek gadget, I wonder how it would turn out, but slowly, I learned to adopt the terrible text lingua of using grammatically unheard, hilarious spelled messages, words like “I tot u’d com”, Tot???com??? I screeched, “olweyz her”, what the hell is that? Unthinkable slogan that threw grammarians’ head into knots.

Unlike others who make texting their part time job, I set my own limit; thank God mobile networks in the Philippines offered electronic loading there’s no need for me to empty my wallet in cell cards. Of course I would spend considerable amount for two reasons:

1. If the message is important

2. If the person is important

Wheww..what a cliché!I dreaded the idea of having text mates; for me it’s ridiculous and downright gruesome. I fretted the idea of inventing stupid words, experimenting emotions through the 160 characters limit and the confetti of lies that followed. Blob. Blob. Blob terminologies that make us roll in laughter. Middle aged folks beginning to sound like they just have discovered the wonders of the birds and the bees.

Though I am wary with texting (which I found tiring and time consuming) I am flexible to the idea of communicating to people I treated close or in lay man’s term, people you simply can’t ignore (LOL!). I am one of those stupid creatures in this vast universe who squirm emotions like a silly teenage girl, like I have just puff the lid of adolescence, my absurdity can be tricky it sometimes go on top of the mountain. At my age I still have the full capacity to giggle at all cost, chuckle at no expense. If I hooked on a certain person I easily acquired the bug of being devoted. Blindingly devoted. Thoughtfulness danced in the air like crazy butterflies.

Then the things I most dreaded finally happened. I attempted to establish this insane habit of exclusively texting someone I knew, of course. But unfortunately, before it picks up momentum, the little game became blurred, I tried to be amusing and humorous but it seems he found my words too boring to take in that his replies reduced into worn out telegrams. He seems too pre-occupied somewhere and becomes disinterested. Then I heard he has found someone interesting, someone who, maybe, can make a good partner for his future and someone who can match his achievements. At first frustration crawled inside my body that I think I would explode, as if a heavy object had been put forcibly inside my ribcage that my breath was almost labored. But I realized I have no right to demand or be jealous or get hurt. I figured out, people vary in some degrees, there are fellows who simply won’t submit to your promptings and you can’t tie them and force them to dip in things they don’t like. So I deliberately performed the ultimate guerilla move of “hiding” before my disappointment blaze up and eat my system.

I started to ignore the messages I received. The yup and the yep becomes irritating. Deleting the number in my phone directory is a lot easier when I am itching to say hello or gudnyt or God bless. But towards the end of the day, it still sores deep inside, realizing how much his friendship means to me. He is the only person I cared and wasted enough time to talk with, to throw tantrums with, nevertheless, I still want to establish friendship with him because I think that’s what he want it to be. Maybe it’s just my vague imagination and my fairytale illusion that painted colors to the wall of our friendship.

It’s crazy how the magic of the new technology transform me from being adamant about relationship into a more open minded individual. Texting is an advantage when you won’t show too much emotion, or when you love playing with keys rather than an articulate head to head conversation. For people who just want to play the art of arrogance, texting is the best recourse. Or defense. You can give excuses for not texting back and there are marathon of reasons to talk about, reasons that sometimes keep repeating like a broken musical record from low battery to bad signal to battery empty to “did not receive” tactics or worse yet, to no load. Plus the convenience of talking straight to the point without bickering. Straight to the point?I shrieked. Nevertheless it is a very friendly gadget because of the convenience it offers. Oh well, may be we just have to be contented with the constant appearance of the bombastic ü or the freezing

It’s funny how you build emotions through the wonders of texting how you become sentimental with ring tones, but people are not made of characters and ring tones and icons. Sometimes we got to be real also. Personal talks, long conversation under the sun and scribbling tickled notes of appreciation and affection are still the best alternative in bridging communication. Never mind if those manual habits had gone the way of the dinosaurs.