Prove It

In chapter 6 of A Better Pencil by Dennis Baron, there is tons of history of the computer and how it affected writing and writers. There were several great points in this chapter, but one especially caught my attention. Baron discussed how the clunkiness and frustration of writing words instead of numbers on PCs kept many writers on their typewriters and with pens in their hands. He wrote "most writers . . . wait for technology to prove itself before changing how they do things" (105). I could certainly see myself in that statement, though in a different situation.

I came to texting a couple years after it became the main utilization of thumbs. I guarded my flip phone the way people guard their latest smartphone. If I wanted a new phone and texting, I had to pay for it myself. I could have; I had a job and not much to spend it on while in high school, but I didn't. Why? Because I was a snob. Maybe snob is not the best word--wait, no. That's the best word I can come up with. I was a snob in that I thought myself superior to my peers by not giving in to the temptation to gadgets and ways of communication I didn't need. Sounds ridiculous now, but believe me, I felt like a warrior. Guarding against the enemy of unnecessary technology that greedy companies sold to naïve and pathetic persons who had no noble cause to give their money and attention to.

Source: http://www.ivy-style.com/confessions-of-a-preppy-snob.html

Yeah; I was sad. Very, very sad.

This snobbery did not last long. Nearly all of my friends texted; if I felt left out and envious of my peers who could communicate with each other while on opposite ends of the school, I repeated "Texting is dumb; there is no need for it. It will ruin language and social skills. Society will collapse", like a war chant.

I entered college and grew up a little. I hated being the sole person to have to call and be called to discuss for half a minute what was going on. I couldn't just send a couple words to a friend. I had to wait for someone to pick up their phone and actually speak to me. Countless awkward situations occurred. Finally, after one particularly mortifying incident, I broke down and got texting. Words cannot express how glad I am that I got it. I, of course, acted like I had to get it if I ever wanted to socialize again; like there was no way around it: a necessary evil.

Very shortly after I acquired texting and got the hang of it, I felt like an idiot and I still look back on my self and go "Wow. You were an idiot."

As Baron said, it had to proven that texting would make my life easier before I agreed to use it.