A Mild Rant

So I've been thinking, lately, about social media. Particularly the idea of texting, or in my case, not texting.
My phone is a plastic brick, that could, quite possibly, double as a self defense weapon. The ring tones are ridiculous, obnoxious midi-files, and one has three choices of background photos: Flower, Soccer Ball and Beach. This doesn't matter to me at all really, (although answering to a blaringly annoying tone is rather embarrassing at times) because I don't talk on the phone a lot in the first place.
On the subject of texting however, things get a little tricky. Texting is so convenient. A couple finger-clicks and a conversation is started. It's probably less awkward and formal in comparison to a face-to-face conversation. When texting there are only words to pay attention to- the meaning is spelled out, quite literally. But it's different when having a face-to-face conversation- you read body language and have to respond to the environment around you. Lulls in conversation are more pronounced. It's a little more risky.
With texting, the relationships with acquaintances or distant friends are far more developed, I'm assuming. If you want to talk with a distant friend face-to-face, you have to devote a lot more time and energy to getting to where they are and taking time to speak to them; unlike just zipping off a text. And because the conversations are less awkward and without as much preamble, one can strike up a conversation with someone over text that they might not be able to in person. So even though you only know Jim from one crazy party and he lives in Kansas, you can still become pretty good friends.
Of course, there are some downsides to texting too. The capacity for misunderstandings is huge compared to face-to-face conversations. How many fights have started, how many broken hearts have there been because of a misread text? Plenty. And for me, the reliance that one develops to texting is something that would tie me down. It would compromise my freedom to a certain point, almost like a kind of social cigarette or pain medication . In the worst of scenarios, one's social skills would be inhibited by the fact that for a majority of the time, they speak through text instead of face-to-face interaction.
And I want the relationships I form with people to be real, true interactions. You can be someone else over text, if you want to be. I know I come out differently over email sometimes. I want honesty more than anything in all relationships, and I don't neccesarily think that texting really promotes that stuff.
But sometimes I wonder, if by not texting, I am missing out. Would the ability to be able to talk to Blu and others, without preamble, and without fright, on a whim, have made things turn out differently at all? Made me more accessible? (My goal isn't exactly to embody accessibilty, but it is something to think about...)
I think about the people who I sometimes go weeks without talking to. I feel bad about it. Guilt swells. Would I have to deal with that regret if I was able to talk them whenever?
In the end, for me and my own personal reasons, I know that I myself am better off without texting. I don't think any less of those who do- truly. It's really weird sometimes to be the only one in the room who isn't connected to some stream of conciousness that everyone else knows about.
I guess I've just been thinking about it. Texting. And so I'd write those thoughts down. That's what a blog is for, right?