There used to be a time when your friends would come pick you up from your house and they would walk up to the door to get you. They would come inside and talk with your family until you were ready to go. However, those simplistic days are unfortunately over and to replace them is a simple text stating “I’m here.”

Granted, most people opt for the latter because it’s easier or maybe you’re running late. The thing is, those little meaningless conversations end up meaning the most later on. I used to know what it was like to be without texting and had to walk to the door to pick friends up or actually pick up a phone and call (which seems to be unheard of nowadays.) But since then I’ve become a citizen of the texting world and all I want to do is escape it.

I got my first cellphone in eighth grade, but unlike the majority of my generation, my cellphone could not send or receive text messages. This was not due to a phone defect, but due to my parent’s idea that texting was a privilege and until I earned it, I would be without it.

If my parents were true to their word, I would have had texting within the first few months of receiving my cell phone. Soon they said no, simply because they feared I would be glued to my phone. Based on my tendency to Facebook creep for hours, I can see where they would have gotten the idea.

I used to be bothered by being unable to communicate with people via texting. I mean, it was how everybody was talking. Also, I wanted an easy way to be able to talk to a cute boy. (Yes, I will shamelessly admit this was a main concern). But after learning to communicate – without a screen or QWERTY keyboard – I realized it wasn’t so bad after all.

And just when I’d decided it was okay to be without texting, my parents surprised me with texting for my 17th birthday. I was paranoid that I’d feel differently and go against the opinions I had developed on my own.

However, the honest-to-goodness truth is I still don’t like texting.

I will admit it makes contacting a group of people easier, but not when you have no way of knowing whether or not your message was received. That can be slightly problematic when trying to organize an event.

I’m also not a fan of the fact that people can contact me any time. There are times I don’t want to talk and it’s nothing against anyone. You can only go so long without responding before people know you’re ignoring them.

Sometimes you need to be living in the present and not glued to your phone. So much happens around us every single day and if you’re checking your phone every single minute you’re going to miss what’s going on in the present.

My biggest problem with texting is wording what I’m trying to say. The other day my friend texted me asking for advice. It was late, so I couldn’t call her. She knew I was awake, so I couldn’t ignore her text. Anything I typed never seemed to do justice to what I was saying. Everything came out wrong and without her hearing what I had to say, it could be completely misinterpreted. That’s what I hate most about texting; you don’t know how people will read what you’ve typed. There are certain conversations, or most conversations, that should occur face-to-face.

Then here’s my teeny, but kind-of main concern. Boys and texting. It is so irritating to wait for a response because  a few minutes can seem like hours. Not to mention, the responses can be lame sauce. “Haha lol.” How on earth am I supposed to respond to that? Those conversations die faster than the average boy’s attention span, and in-person encounters just become super awkward.

But, I’d like to point out that not having my texting up until now has given me a good sense of self-control. I know I’d much rather have my conversations in person or over the phone because I like those means of communication better. So you won’t see me being dependent on my phone as if it’s a source of oxygen.