The article entitled “Bubbles carry a lot of weight”
is about how these typing indicators cause anxiety in some people because of
the suspense that comes with waiting for the bubbles to disappear and the
response to show up. In today’s world people are having serious conversations
on their phones that should be happening in person and the looming bubbles only
add intensity to the situation. The article described the bubbles as “a source
of eternal hope and ultimate letdown in our daily lives.”
Apple imessaging and other applications that use the
messaging bubbles blur the lines between real-life speech that includes non verbals
and traditional mediated communication that is slower and more one dimensional.
The article also notes the bubbles have made mobile communication a mandatory
act instead of something once only highly encouraged. The author says the
bubbles have come to communicate a message all their own. Ron Palmeria, founder
of a communications startup describes the bubbles as “the equivalent of saying,
‘Hold on, I’m responding.’”
I never stopped to think about the effects of the
three tiny typing bubbles until I read this article, and I couldn’t help but
agree with what was said. I will be the first to admit I have fallen victim to
waiting anxiously for the bubbles to appear, fade away, reappear and finally
vanish to replace a long awaited response.
Today’s world is more connected than ever before and
in many ways this connectivity is a good thing. Gone are the days of snail mail
and even voice phone conversations because of the speed, convenience and
low pressure associated with sending a text message. However, I can’t quite
look at the typing indicator bubbles the same anymore because I can’t help but
wonder if they are subconsciously affecting me and those around me. The world
today has enough problems of its own without throwing in the destruction of
three gray dots. That being said, I hope you will take some time to read this
article and try to be more aware how those typing bubbles are influencing you.
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteJust as you said, I will never be able to look at the typing indicator bubbles the same. It is so fascinating of some people having anxiety over the typing indicator bubbles. Though, I can't blame them because I do understand the severity of information one could be waiting on. The worst is when someone is typing and you see the bubble, but it vanishes and they end up not texting you! I read the article and I thought it was really interesting. Thanks for sharing!
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteIt's a good thing you finally found this article because it explains some things about my life as a wait for a text back! If I'm having a back and forth conversation with someone, I don't usually put my phone down. Instead, I stare at those three little dots and come up with all sorts of irrational responses I could be seeing in a fe moments. The worst is when someone accidentally hits the space bar or a random letter and doesn't realize it, so the three little dots stay there FOREVER. Yes, I have stared at my phone for that long. But overall, this was a great post! I agree it is sad three little dots can effect human sanity in the way they do, but in some ways, we allow them to so. We have become so caught up in the instantaneousness (is that really a word?) of texting or receiving information, so much so, we become overly emotionally invested. Yikes, sounds like we have some personal work we need to do before we examine how we interact with others.