You know the type. They haven’t called anyone on the phone since 2007. Email is too demanding for them – all that space. They like to communicate in 100 character mini-statements like, “Hey, u bizy 2nite?” or “up 4 drinks l8tr?” or my favorite, “Cnt stp tnkin bout u.” Because nothing says, I can’t stop thinking about you like a poorly written text message.

News flash – when you want someone to fall in love with you it helps to show them that you care enough to put some effort into communicating with them.

Are you going to be 5 minutes late? Go ahead and text “5 min late”. We understand. That’s what texting is for, but a good rule of thumb is to avoid texting until she/he knows that you’re a hard-working, decent person of good reputation. Otherwise, you look like you just don’t care.

People will say, “This is the way people under 30 communicate.” Perhaps we’re headed towards a world where no one can read or write, and the New York Times headline says, “Stox Mrkt Dwn N 2020”. All I know is when you want to meet someone to live with and love for the rest of your life, you start caring about different things. It matters less whether they drive a cool car and more that they listen when you speak. One of the things that starts to matter more is that they treat you with respect, and people who primarily contact you with text messages probably aren’t giving you the respect of devoting their entire attention to you.

Look around. Guys texting at the ball game. Women texting at the mall. Commuters texting in their cars. It’s all the same – taking something so very important, courtship, and reducing it to another silly multi-task item. Stand out in the crowd! Go old school! Give your new love a phone call! Let him/her hear your voice!