- Texting does not offer voice tone and speech patterns. However, when face-to-face with someone, you can perceive emotions such as happiness, sadness and anger quickly and more accurately. It is difficult to express sarcasm in SMS messaging. Additionally, you can misinterpret a text message when you can't hear the tone of voice.
- The majority of communication is nonverbal, conveyed by tone and body language. Body language includes facial expressions, gestures and eye contact. Texting does not allow you to read body language, so you receive only part of the communication.
- Speech speeds up communication between you and the other person. Typing out a message on your cell phone takes longer. Face-to-face conversation allows quick responses by everyone involved. Text messaging with more than two people may also require you to relay the message to another person. In a face-to-face interaction, everybody in the group receives the message immediately.
- Texting has a 160-character limit. This limit causes you to use shorthand words to get the point of the message across in the fewest number of characters. Using several shorthand words in a text message can become confusing. The person you are texting may not be sure what the abbreviation means and will try to guess the meaning, increasing the probability of misinterpretation. Face-to-face communication does not have these limitations and abbreviations.
Tone
Body Language
Speed of Conversation
No Limitations
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