While extroverts are master minglers who thrive in social situations and introverts prefer solitude and quality company; a new personality type has emerged based on their communication preference, ‘textrovert’. They favour text-based conversation and express themselves better virtually. With an unparalleled wit, the persona comes across as fun and jovial, and really shines through the texts. They know exactly what to text, effortlessly adapting their texting style based on who they are chatting with. There’s a sense of comfort in engaging in disembodied conversations over text, lowering all guards that might be present in face-to-face interactions. If you are a proud textrovert or maybe someone who prefers texting over calls, be careful though. With the loosening of mouth over texts, comes a bold openness that might land you in trouble. Here are some things that should never be said over a text.
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Confessions
It’s easy to have a cover when you’re about to spill the deepest, darkest yearnings over texts. You have more time to think, instead of spontaneously answering in person. It may seem like a win to you, but it’s one of the downfalls of text-based communications.
Misunderstandings are more common, especially when discussing complex emotions of love and infatuations. Despite texts being instantaneous, you miss out on a major chunk of the puzzle. In-person conversation’s biggest asset is body language. Body language provides glimpses of unsaid words, adding context to your understanding. Face-to-face conversations require guts, but the outcome of mutual understanding makes face-to-face conversations all worth it. Love is all about big gestures or summoning the courage to try and proclaim it, don’t water it down with texts.
Apologies
Apologising over texts seems like a formality. It may even sound sarcastic without the voice intonations to give it a more emotional touch. Devoid of the granular nuances of the spoken language, it does not reflect the regret or guilt an in-person apology would. The apology text makes it seem less sincere and lacks the genuineness of a true apology.
Breakups
You’re inhumane if you break up over a text. It’s a disrespectful way of ending a relationship. The other person is doomed to ponder what went wrong, as the text does not provide enough clarification to understand how the relationship dipped. It’s dismissive and inconsiderate of their emotions. Face-to-face conversations have an empathetic way of dealing with breakups. Text breakups are simply cold and brutal. Texts are one-dimensional and could never offer either of you closure. Breakup texts are outrightly painful, and leave your ex with low self-esteem.
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Secrets
Secrets are for the wind, hushed and blown away into hiding, not for texts. Texts have a technical permanence, and any covert matter rarely stays hidden. Anyone can easily turn their back on you, screenshot the conversation, and use it as emotional leverage against you. The screenshots can easily be forwarded without your consent, causing you emotional distress when you find out about the breach of trust.
Big news
Unveiling a major life update or a milestone over a text is absurdly underwhelming. The emojis can never transmit your emotions and do justice to them. The delivery is not meaningful. You can’t let your bestie know you’re engaged over a text, otherwise you’ll miss hearing her loud squeals. Or maybe sometimes, you don’t have the right word in your vocabulary to truly express the big news the right way. Your big news is too big for mere words.
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