Was there ever a time when the whole of society had abandoned reason and the moral law to the extent that ours has? What? France, circa 1789? Germany, circa 1939? Granted, like a bad cliche, you symbolize the narcissistic, materialistic culture we share, so I sympathize with your dilemma over text-message hookups. I regret the angst you feel whilst sitting on a barstool trying to decide whom to fuck. Truly, you've identified one of the world's greatest problems.

Texting enabled you to get past your inhibitions and indulge in some guilt free quickes which hopefully all parties enjoyed.

Can't we just enjoy some spontaneity and joy? and leave it at that?

Instead all this revisionist angst ridden morality get brought into play.

At least this isn't broadsheet, then we'd have a sophomoric fact free essay on how texting enables the oppression of women..

that are more properly within the purview of you and your friends.

Unless you can point out the statute books?

next..

...lol. totally agreed.

and i'd heartily disagree that the start of the french revolution was somehow an abdication of the moral law...not to be annoying or anything, but the worst elements of the revolution can't be pinned onto the worthy principles fought for by many frenchmen.

;-)

Hmmmm, now I reread your post do I detect a hint of sarcasm? my apologies if that is the case.

Maybe I'd go further than you, blackpaw. I'd say there's no such thing as, well, anything. But especially truth, moral law, or anything like that. We're all so enlightened here that we know doubt is all there is. Or wait, um, we don't know anything. I digress. To return. No statute books, no moral law. A good inference. Brilliant.

Literate, semi-intelligent and somewhat slutty chicks that can hold their liquor?

Awesome.

I would totally hook up with U two or three times.

I think this piece is an entertaining and insightful commentary on the way we live and love today. I do believe Ms. Hepola mentioned she is somewhat disillusioned by the quick and dirtiness of the texting hookup, the lack of romance, etc. Don't shoot the messenger! She's living in the here and now and sharing her every day experiences. It's clear to me that many of these comments/letters were written by folks whose everyday experiences are limited to creamed corn and Jeopardy.

The worst thing about much technology is that it does little more than enable you to indulge every single reptilian impulse you might have without excessive accountability. In conversation, face-to-face especially, you have to actually "be there"--you don't get a teleprompter or a microphone telling you what to do. Time to compose your thoughts is minimal. You're exposed, vulnerable.

Texting creates a certain remove. It's not oppressive, it's only somewhat narcissistic, it's not the worst thing ever. Hepola did not imply it was any of those things. She wrote that it's weird. It takes away everything that's human about interaction.

If people continue using this method in favor of actually talking, we'll all be little more than kings of our own skull-sized domains, trapped and unable to express an honest emotion, perpetually strangers to one another. Ick. The fact that so few people answer their phones these days is just sad.

Are you kidding me? Are you actually 36 years old and talking to women like that? Grow up and get a life.

it's sarcasm! sarcasm is the new...sarcasm.

Like, what happened to a date? What happened to calling? To planning in advance? I realize this will open me to ridicule.

Possibly. A real "grammar snoot" wouldn't use the redundant "planning in advance."

when the sarcasm flies right by people hurrying to be earnest. Thank you all for injecting a little humor in an otherwise depressing morning!

I LOL'd a few times. Thanks, Sarah.

You said it perfectly here:

What they said about text messaging was no different than what I have always said about e-mail, what my mother might have said about the long missives she once sent to my father: It allowed them to be their better selves, the clever/unflappable/devastating people we all want to be in the calamitous first throes of love.

There is no greater thrill than texting a few loaded words in which to slay, to woo, to dis... to devastate, absolutely.

It's how the world is right now and I'm all in.

When I need my words served under glass with a cloth napkin, I read well-written books or The New Yorker. It's not a problem for me.

Hey, she said she was a "grammar snoot," not a English snoot. Or a good writer. And it was 1972guy that called her "Literate, [and] semi-intelligent . . . ." Maybe he should have said "semi-literate" in addition to semi-intelligent.

Ah, if you'd only sat down at your desk and pulled out a sheet of stationery; but no, it had to be a legal pad. At least white, we hope, and not canary yellow. And a felt-tipped pen?

I read, some time ago, that those who once used a dipped quill in ink had about 7 words to write before they needed to redip. And redipping brought more thought. No wonder the lovely and rational balance of those sentences from the guys back in the Enlightenment: Voltaire, Jefferson, et. al.

I have a phone and pretty decent text-entry ability. But as far as I know, the process you describe also requires, you know, knowing girls you can text in this manner and having their numbers. And if that falls under the category of 'too easy' then I must be retarded. Either that, or it shows just how caught up you are in the female perspective, where your only issue is whether to accept the advances constantly coming at you, of which you more or less have your pick.

On another note, you should be aware that for a Broadsheet writer on Salon, the time-honored practice of injecting a bit of personal information into an article to better connect with your readers is akin to diving naked into a pool of salivating angry sharks. Seriously, I don't know how you guys even keep writing. You must have some pretty thick skin.