Texting Problems — Oh My!

It goes something like this-two teens will be texting and suddenly one doesn’t know how to interpret the text that she just received. The problem is that the tone of electronically delivered messages is often misinterpreted. Positive messages are often interpreted as more neutral than they are intended to be. Neutral messages are often interpreted as more negative than they are intended to be. Similarly, negative messages are interpreted as even more negative than they are intended to be. What all of this leads to are texting problems, communication problems, conflicts, disappointments and even sleepless nights.

The teens tell me about these texting problems all the time. It’s not unusual for the teens to be up until the wee hours of the night trying to resolve texting conflict. I suggest that they pick up the phone and talk these issues through. At least if you hear a voice you can sense a tone and understand one another better. I suggest that parents make this suggestion to their teens too. It is certainly not helpful for your teens to be upset unnecessarily.

Anyone have texting stories that you would like to share? I know that as a psychologist and an adult I sure have had my share of texting mishaps…