There is a saying that is generally true, and that is there a nice people and, you know, A-holes everywhere. Some people like to party and meet lots of people, others like to have smaller groups of friends that they do things with, and there is an infinite amount of personality attributes one can have. Specifically, things can be probed at and observed, and an interesting spectrum of people is the shy and the not so shy. Even more specifically is the behavior in cyberspace compared to natural verbal exchange. If a room full of people talk all day, they will realize who is outgoing, who is too outgoing and socially awkward, who is very quiet and sweet, and who is quiet and bottled up angrily. Of course, all of these judgments may not be a hundred percent on par, as moods and life events can make people unbalanced in their thoughts, warping the image they normally portray to others. So many thoughts feelings and emotions can be observed in this real natural environment. Not that cyberspace isn’t real, as the communications still exists, but in a text message conversation through the computer or phone, aspects of emotion and the overall pressure of having someone staring at your face and judging you are not existent. The lack of this pressure as well as the ability to think together a complete thought over a completely self regulated and private system causes the people who may be considered “shy” to come out of there shell and say something. Whether those bottled up thoughts tend to be positive or negative depends on the person, and maybe the mood, but the base personality trait of being reserved finds a more interactive role in the text message world. Many people who are shy and not outspoken will actually prefer this method of communication.

I personally only like to use text message if I am at work or school, as I feel verbal conversations over the phone or in person get things done much, much faster. I can type at the speed of an AIM junkie, but I can talk faster. I do not react different to any form of communication, but I can talk faster. Just keep it simple please.