Text Etiquette - Caroline Van Voorhis

Your friend is over and the two of you are just hanging out, relaxing, and talking about the week. The conversation is flowing, until suddenly a beeping noise and a faint vibration interrupts what you are saying. Your friend pulls a glowing cell phone out of her pocket, and begins typing away on the tiny keyboard. A silence settles over the room as you awkwardly look around and wait for the conversation to resume again.
Admit it; everyone has been that person who takes out her phone, causing the other person to feel uncomfortable. Then again, you have undoubtedly been the one left out, as your friend carries on a side conversation with someone else. So, where do you draw the line? When is it absolutely necessary to reply to a text message? When does texting change from innocuous to just plain annoying?
The answer is just plain simple - people should not send texts while in the presence of others. If you spend more time on the phone than you do interacting with your friend, it infers that you are more interested in your texting-buddy, you are bored with the person in your presence, and you would rather be talking to someone else. Isn’t hanging out with a friend while simultaneously texting both insulting and a waste of everybody’s time? If you absolutely have to send text messages, at least include the friend you are with in the conversation. Tell them who you are talking to and what the topic of conversation is, because nobody likes to be the outsider, or be put in a position where, to feel included, they must prod for information. So I tell you, leave the texting to when you are home alone, have an important question, or just need a good distraction from your endless amounts of homework.