Texters' parlance

Texting has become the most prominent form of instant communication.

In our fast-paced world, more people prefer to communicate over texts than pick up the phone and call. While texting may seem like a great tool of communication, it can have its downsides as well. It can foster and build a relationship. But the same series of texts can turn into a battle of texts.

There can be a few issues with texting as your primary medium of communication in relationships:

Response time expectation: Many individuals have difficulty waiting for a response. They find themselves feeling restless and fidgety when their partner or others don't text back immediately. This anxiety can thereafter colour their outlook towards further communication with the person. 'Left at seen' is a new-age terminology implying that someone has seen your text but didn't respond, often leading to fights.

Staggered connections: Since the communication is sometimes not in real-time, because the other person responds back much later, it can lead to a break in the connectivity of the topic that was being explored. This can lead to disinterest, and even confusion if the topic being discussed has long passed by since.

No body language: Our communication is not just words. On average, we use about 20 per cent of words and 80 per cent of facial expression, body language, voice intonation, rhythm, and more. Texting cuts out the latter's major chunk and hence there is a huge room for misinterpretation.

Your mood colours how you read texts. If you are annoyed or had a fight with the person earlier, you are likely to read the same message with a negative context despite the emojis.

Texting and new-age phenomenon

Sexting: Sexting is a portmanteau of 'sex' and 'texting'. Messages that are sexually provocative and indicative of flirtation, and express desire for each other physically, are often exchanged in relationships. This is considered healthy as long as it's consensual and both partners are happy with the approach and content. Compulsive sexting or receiving unwanted sexts is a red flag in any relationship.

Fexting: A new-age term which got hyped recently by the US President Biden's wife in an interview. In an attempt to create a short form of fighting and texting, Jill Biden casually referred to how they fight over texts and referred to it as fexting (fight+texting). However, in reality, fexting is considered a term with a sexual connotation.

Compulsive texting: Yes you can have a compulsion to texting. According to a new study, teenagers can have mental health issues like anxiety, insecurity, depression and low self-esteem if they exchange too many text messages on mobile phones.

Textiety: Do you experience anxiety before sending messages? Do you get even more anxious when anticipating a text back? It is quite a common condition to feel anxious around texts and the act of texting. This is not a diagnosable disorder but comes under the various behavioural issues associated with excessive smartphone use.

Chexting: Cheating on texts. In today's day and age, cheating can be not just physical but on many other levels as well. Texting with the intent to cheat has become popular. Sliding into someone's DMs and sending private messages with the intent to hook up can wreak havoc in your current relationship.

Textationship: Is it possible to have a complete relationship with someone based on only texting? A texting-only relationship is usually referred to as a textationship. You may have a bond with a person over text, social media or WhatsApp and share intimate parts of your life only via texting. There exist relationships which don't involve ever meeting up with the person. These could be platonic or romantic relationships.

Texters thumb: Texter's thumb is formally called De Quervain Tenosynovitis.

The other popular terms used are "Gamers thumb" or "Smartphone Thumb". It is the painful swelling of the tendons that control thumb movement that occurs due to excessive texting.

Text neck syndrome: Suffering from neck pain? Wondering what could be the cause. At this very moment check the position of your neck while reading this article, watching a video or even when just scrolling. The forward head posture coming from bending the neck for hours while texting can lead to it. The solution is simple, either reduce your texting or lift your phone up while texting and bring it to your eye's level.

Texting is not going anywhere. Ensuring there is a balanced use of texting and face-to-face plus verbal communication can help boost your relationship with others.

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