Top Ten Rules of Texting Etiquette For Children

How many hours do children converse with other children nowadays? If a child is not at school, do you see him/her talking on the phone with friends? Chances are that you would see them glued to the phone, chatting with someone. They prefer texting to talking. Texting is easier. Why? When you text, the other person is faceless. It is easier to communicate when the other person is faceless. In such a world, there should be rules that should be followed while texting.

1. Do not text after bedtime

Texting after bedtime interrupts the sleep of yourself and the person you are texting. It is considered rude and improper to disturb people after, say, 9.00 pm. It is late, and it is time to sleep.

2. Do not text during meal time

If you are dining with others, it is extremely rude to text while eating. If you are eating by yourself, it is still not good because you are not focusing on eating. You wouldn’t even know if you are eating banana skin instead of the banana if you are so engrossed in texting while eating!

3. Do not text while in class, in church or attending any function where your full attention is needed

A student who texts while in class listening to a lecture is a picture of distraction. No one takes such a person seriously. Ditto in church or any other function where one is required to pay full attention.

4. Do not send spur-of-the-moment texts to anyone

The text is written words. It cannot be erased. Even if you delete it, it is still there in the recycle bin. Therefore, do not send any text messages on an emotional impulse. You may come to regret it later. A text message can make or break a relationship. It is no use regretting it later.

5. Do not convey important decisions via texts

You want to break up with your girlfriend or boyfriend. Biology has always been a thorn on your side; now you want to drop it and tell the biology teacher that you will not be attending her classes anymore. Your best friend has been gossiping about you, spreading rumors, and now you want to let her know how despicable she is and how betrayed you feel. How do you convey all these? Not via texting. Go and visit them and talk face to face. Or call them and talk to them. These are too important to be texted.

6. Do not use words that are considered profanities

Every language has curse and swear words that are considered too improper for polite conversation. In texting such words should be avoided. Your message could be forwarded and circulated around, and your use of profanities will create a very bad impression of yourself among other people.

7. Be patient

When you send a text message, the receiver may not see it immediately. Even if they have seen it, they may not have the time to reply immediately. Therefore, you need to be patient and wait for a reply before sending lots of follow-up messages. Also, texting the other person at the same time as he/she is typing will lead to improper communication. Be patient while engaging in text communication.

8. Be brief

Nobody likes to read long text messages. Keep your messages short. If you have a considerably long message, call the person. If you think the person is too busy at the moment, you can send a voice message to convey non-emotional information.

9. Use good language

Texting has a way of killing the language slowly and painfully! Do not get into the habit of shortening words into letters. You would sound too casual. Not only that, there is a high likelihood of such language creeping into your normal writing. Do not shorten ‘you’ to ‘u’ or ‘message’ to ‘msg’.

10. No texting while talking or interacting with someone

It is the height of impoliteness to text while talking or interacting with someone. The signal you are giving is that ‘you are not important to me’. If it is very important, you can excuse yourself from the conversation saying ‘Please give me a moment. This is a little urgent.’ Nothing is more annoying than having a person checking messages and texting while being in a conversation.