Check out one of my recent posts on the Lifestyle Insights: Real Women, Real Life blog I contribute to. It's on the topic of "Textiquette" -- are you a violator?
JUST WHEN YOU THINK YOUR TWEEN HAS LEARNED the art of good manners — whether it’s keeping elbows off the dinner table or courteously addressing adults — there comes yet another form of etiquette that needs to be conquered.
Call it Textiquette: the art of texting without being rude to those around you.
Since recently becoming a 3-out-of–4 person texting family (Santa surprised our 10-year-old daughter with a cell phone!), we now communicate via texting more than ever before.
At this age, our daughter has only a few contacts, and most are family members. So while we don’t yet worry about whom she is communicating with, we already see how texting could become a distraction.
Textiquette is like any other learned behavior, so we figure it’s best to establish rules from the beginning so we don’t have to change habits later.
There are a handful of no-brainer basic rules that every tween, teen and even adults should follow:
Never text while driving (or doing any activity that requires your full attention, like riding a bike or skateboarding).
Never text where it’s not allowed — in class, in church or synagogue, or in other obvious public settings.
And never, ever text inappropriate pictures or messages.
In teaching our daughter when it is — and when it’s not — appropriate to text, we’ve realized that many adults (ourselves, included) could stand to brush up on their Textiquette. Consider:
Keep text messages short and to the point. If it lasts longer than a few minutes, use your phone for a real conversation.
Don’t text another person when you are in the company of someone else. It’s just rude. If you must take the text, politely excuse yourself from the room.
Don’t use texting as a forum to gossip or say mean things about other people. Tweens should understand how texting can impact others — and how they are ultimately responsible for what they text.
Posts
