It happens far too often.†† You’re just hanging out with your friends then someone in the room looks at their phone, texts a little, then immediately makes a frantic exit with some weird excuse like, “Oh no! I left my hair crimper on!” ††Okay, first of all,† no one crimps their hair anymore and second, it’s clear this little liar is going to hook up.† That’s right, your friend got a “sext.”
The “sexting” I’m talking about is specifically that of a drunk texting conversation between two people with the sole purpose to meet up and hook up. Or at least, in the beginning stages, let each other know that there is potential to hook up somewhere along the line.† Some may think sexting is a type of wonderful commitment-free communication and an easy way to, for lack of a better term, “get some,” but there are a lot of downsides to the world of sexting.
I think its safe to say that if someone is sexting for the first time, they are probably drinking…heavily. This poses the first problem with sexting; sexting the wrong person. I’m sure most of you are familiar with the mildly entertaining, but still obnoxious (because it hits too close to home) website, www.textfromlastnight.com. If you have managed to miss seeing your Facebook newsfeed plastered with excerpts from this website, its main purpose is to post parts of people’s texting conversations† from weekend nights with a heavy focus on sexting. Under the website’s “Worst Nights” section, there is a texting conversation that reads, “ë(212): i want you now’ ë(916): you need to stop dating girls with the same name as your mother…or stop drinking so much…I don’t want to see this.”‘ Yikes. Do you think this mistake sext is funny because it would never happen to you or because this has happened to you ó multiple times? I won’t judge but I know alcohol mixed with your phone’s bright screen may result in an accidental sext to your mother, professor, doctor, or even worse, an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend.
Second, a sext can be saved on a cell phone for as long as the phone is in existence.† My friend who goes to school in Baltimore recently told me a story about her roommate who attended a pop-star party.† Of course, the party was playing all of the latest and greatest tunes from current pop-stars. So, naturally, Ke$ha’s hit single, “Your Love is My Drug” was playing over the stereo as my friend’s roommate was mid-sext conversation.† Inspired by the pop-star’s creative first-name, the roommate sexted, “Let$ have $$$ex.” Needless to say, this hook-up never happened.† Instead, in the morning the sexting roommate woke up (alone) to see the white board attached to her door with messages like “Let’$ get breakfa$t!” or “Can I get my book back from clas$$?” Yes, the guy involved in the sexting conversation actually took his phone around and showed everyone. She has yet to live this down.
Third, sexting makes normal life interactions incredibly awkward. We all know that Wooster is full of socially-awkward individuals, but when sexting is added into the mix things just get weird. How many times have you walked through Lowry on a Saturday morning and seen the same person who sexted you the night before? Furthermore, how many times has this person not acknowledged your existence? It happens to more people than should be allowed. I think it’s proper sexting etiquette to just simply say “hello” the day after a sext.† Pardon me if I’m wrong, but is that not a normal way to build some sort of relationship, even if it is just to hook up?
Lastly, sexting limits the expression for how someone may really feel.† My phone only allows 160 characters per text. How will someone be able to truly, or even politely, express their feelings to someone if there is a limit on what can be said.† Instead of† a normal face-to-face or even telephone conversation involving back and forth communication full of questions and ideas, sexts consist of abbreviated words, poor grammar, and blunt demands.
I believe sexting is ruining our society. Using a cell phone as the primary means to communicate with the opposite sex will only cause long-term problems for social beings in the future.† If we continue to allow crude sexts to be considered the norm, future generations will learn from our mistakes and we will leave a legacy of loose, creepy, socially awkward, sex-crazed texters.