As I catch up on the Economist I found the Home truths about telecoms in their technology quarterly from June.
"Next, despite much talk of ‘convergence’ within the industry, people are in fact using different communications technologies in distinct and divergent ways. The fixed-line phone ‘is the collective channel, a shared organisational tool, with most calls made 'in public' because they are relevant to the other members of the household,’ she says. Mobile calls are for last-minute planning or to co-ordinate travel and meetings. Texting is for ‘intimacy, emotions and efficiency’. E-mail is for administration and to exchange pictures, documents and music. Instant-messaging (IM) and voice-over-internet calls are ‘continuous channels’, open in the background while people do other things. ‘Each communication channel is performing an increasingly different function,’ says Ms Broadbent. Another finding is that despite the plunging cost of voice calls, and the rise of free internet-calling services such as Skype, people seem to prefer typing."
1 comment:
Texting is for "intimacy, emotions"? Interesting. Perhaps that's an industry euphemism for "texting is a pale substitute for the actual verbal expression of intimacy or emotion." Texting seems to me first and foremost for efficiency, a way to leave a quick message that can be politely prioritized by the receiving party. I.e. one needn't instantly read or respond to a text message, and the receiver can read the text message on his device later without having to retrieve it like a voicemail. While I confess I have expressed affection or emotion via text, it was because it was appropriate to my or my partner's immediate environment at the time, not because I thought it was the most satisfying form of expression.
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