The Emily Post Institute’s guidelines include, for example, these two emphatic texting no-nos
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The first text message — “Merry Christmas” — was sent Dec. 3, 1992. Since then, billions of texts have been sent. And even though texting is far from the practice of formal letter writing, some of the same etiquette principles apply.
The Emily Post Institute’s guidelines include, for example, these two emphatic texting no-nos:
1. Informing someone of bad news.
2. Breaking off a relationship or friendship.
Verywellmind.com in September offered some do’s and don’ts:
‒ Do compliment, send funny memes, comment positively, encourage, etc., in order to build a relationship.
‒ Don’t text excessively unnecessary and unimportant information, questions, demands, etc., as all indicate insecurity and clingy behavior.
‒ Don’t ever threaten or bully through texting.
‒ Don’t sext. “While you might think that sending sexy messages, nude photos or sexts in a relationship helps spice it up and keep things interesting, research has shown that relationships involving excessive sexting usually experience more conflict.”
‒ Don’t text to resolve conflicts.
‒ Do text each other equally, especially at the beginning of a relationship or friendship: ”… if one person initiates all of the contact it signals that there is some texting incompatibility present.”
Additional “texting manners” per The Emily Post Institute include:
‒ Don’t text at the movies, a play, or a concert since the screen light is distracting.
‒ Don’t text anything confidential, private or potentially embarrassing.
‒ Respond with “Sorry, wrong number” if a text is sent unintentionally.
And then there is group texting — a whole different animal. Marketwatch.com shared advice in August to keep group texting from becoming the bane of one’s existence:
‒ Stick to the point. Only convey something that involves the topic or the group.
‒ Avoid a private conversation. Text an individual directly about something that does not involve the group.
‒ Limit the number of people in a group.
And, not all group text messages need to be answered. Read and note information only.
By Deena Bouknight More Content Now