Why do we choose to text instead of talk? 6 Minute English

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.

I’m Neil.

And I’m Georgina

Can I ask you something, Georgina…?

Mm-mm-hmm.

Georgina? I said, I want to ask you something…

are you listening to me?!

Mm-hmm,

just a second, Neil, I’m texting a friend…

Ah, has this ever happened you?

Someone too busy texting to talk.

With the huge rise of mobile phones in recent decades,

communicating by text has become more and more popular

and scenes like this have become increasingly common.

…and send! There, all done!

Now, what were you saying, Neil?

In this programme, we’ll be investigating why people

often choose to text, instead of talk to the people in their lives.

We’ll be asking whether this popular form of communication

is changing how we interact with each other.

And, of course, we’ll be learning some related

vocabulary as well.

Now, Neil, what did you want to ask me?

My quiz question, Georgina, which is this.

Young people are often the biggest users of mobile phones,

but in a 2016 study, what percentage of British

teenagers said they would prefer to send a text

rather than speak to someone,

even if they were in the same room?

Is it: a) 9 percent?,

b) 49 percent?, or, c) 99 percent?

That sounds pretty shocking!

I can’t believe 99 percent of teenagers said that,

so I’ll guess b) 49 percent.

OK, Georgina. We’ll find out later if that’s right.

In one way, the popularity of texting, sometimes called

‘talking with thumbs’, is understandable - people like to

be in control of what they say.

But this low-risk way of hiding behind a screen may come

at a cost, as neuroscientist, Professor Sophie Scott,

explained to Sandra Kanthal, for BBC World Service

programme, The Why Factor:

When we ‘talk with our thumbs’ by text or email or

instant message, we’re often prioritising speed over clarity

and depth.

But when we can’t hear the way someone is speaking it’s all

too easy to misunderstand their intention.

So if I say a phrase like, ‘Oh shut up!’ -

has a different meaning than, ‘Oh shut up!’

There’s an emotional thing there but also a strong

kind of intonation: one’s sort of funny,

one’s just aggressive.

Written down it’s just aggressive – ‘Shut up!’

- and you can’t soften that. […] We always speak with melody

and intonation to our voice and we’ll change our meaning

depending on that.

You take that channel of information out of communication

you lose another way that sense is being conveyed.

When reading a text instead of listening to someone speak,

we miss out on the speaker’s intonation –

that’s the way the voice rises and falls when speaking.

Intonation, how a word is said, often changes

the meaning of words and phrases - small groups of words

people use to say something particular.

Reading a phrase like, ‘Oh shut up!’ in a text,

instead of hearing it spoken aloud, makes it

easy to misunderstand the speaker‘s intention –

their aim, or plan of what they want to do.

And it’s not just the speaker’s intention that we miss.

A whole range of extra information is conveyed

through speech, from the speaker’s age and gender

to the region they’re from.

Poet, Gary Turk, believes that we lose something

uniquely human when we stop talking.

And there are practical problems involved with texting too,

as he explains to BBC World Service’s, The Why Factor:

If you speak to someone in person and they don’t respond

right away, that would be rude.

But you might be speaking to someone in person

and someone texts you...

and it would be ruder for you then to stop that conversation

and speak to the person over text…

yet the person on the other side of the text is getting annoyed –

you haven’t responded right way – it’s like we’re

constantly now creating these situations using our phones

that allow us to like tread on mines –

no matter what you do, we’re going to disappoint people

because we’re trying to communicate in so many different ways.

Do you prioritise the person on the phone?

Would you prioritise the person you’re speaking to?

Who do you disappoint first?

You’re going to disappoint somebody.

So what should you do if a friend texts you when you’re

already speaking to someone else in person –

physically present, face to face?

You can’t communicate with both people at the same time,

so whatever you do someone will get annoyed –

become angry and upset.

Gary thinks that despite its convenience,

texting creates situations where we have to tread on mines,

another way of saying that something is a minefield,

meaning a situation full of hidden problems and dangers,

where people need to take care.

Yes, it’s easy to get annoyed when someone ignores you

to text their friend…

Oh, you’re not still upset about that are you, Neil?

Ha, it’s like those teenagers in my quiz question!

Remember I asked you how many teenagers

said they’d prefer to text someone,

even if they were in the same room.

I guessed it was b) 49 percent.

Which was… the correct answer!

I’m glad you were listening, Georgina, and not texting!

Ha ha! In this programme we’ve been discussing

ways in which texting differs from talking with someone in person

– or face to face.

Sending texts instead of having a conversation

means we don’t hear the speaker’s intonation –

the musical way their voice rises and falls.

A phrase - or small group of words - like ‘Oh shut up!’,

means different things when said in different ways.

Without intonation we can easily misunderstand a

text writer’s intention – their idea or plan of

what they are going to do.

Which in turns means they can get annoyed –

or become irritated, if you don’t understand

what they mean, or don’t respond right away.

All of which can create an absolute minefield –

a situation with many hidden problems,

where you need to speak and act carefully.

And that’s all we have time for in this programme,

but remember you can find more useful vocabulary,

trending topics and help with your language learning

here at BBC Learning English.

We also have an app that you can download for free

from the app stores and of course

we are all over social media. Bye for now!

Bye!