Why Do People Still Text
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@Dashrender said in Why Do People Still Text:
So? so what? who cares that the carriers have plans that don't include unlimited texting? I missed something I guess earlier in the conversation why this matters?
Because that's the point. Not all people have unlimited texting. Earlier in the thread, there were arguments made that texting is "fine" to use because everyone has unlimited texting today. But now, years later, I'm running into more and more people that don't have it. Either because it costs too much (Ohio) compared to what plans they use or it is unavailable (Panama City.)
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@scottalanmiller said in Why Do People Still Text:
@Dashrender said in Why Do People Still Text:
So? so what? who cares that the carriers have plans that don't include unlimited texting? I missed something I guess earlier in the conversation why this matters?
Because that's the point. Not all people have unlimited texting. Earlier in the thread, there were arguments made that texting is "fine" to use because everyone has unlimited texting today. But now, years later, I'm running into more and more people that don't have it. Either because it costs too much (Ohio) compared to what plans they use or it is unavailable (Panama City.)
This is where you are wrong and what I am saying you are doing wrong.
It does not cost too much. Your people in Ohio are paying more than they need in order to not have unlimited texting. This is their problem for not reshopping their old cellular plans.
Same with any technical service, you have to update your options over time to ensure you are getting the best value proposition. Anyone (yeah yeah, exceptions exist I am sure, but your family is not a special snowflake) in the U.S. on a plan with any carrier that has some kind of limited texting has not shopped their plans in a long time.
Panama is a different thing.
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@scottalanmiller said in Why Do People Still Text:
@Dashrender said in Why Do People Still Text:
So? so what? who cares that the carriers have plans that don't include unlimited texting? I missed something I guess earlier in the conversation why this matters?
Because that's the point. Not all people have unlimited texting. Earlier in the thread, there were arguments made that texting is "fine" to use because everyone has unlimited texting today. But now, years later, I'm running into more and more people that don't have it. Either because it costs too much (Ohio) compared to what plans they use or it is unavailable (Panama City.)
aww, yep - missed that whole piece of the conversation.
I'm guessing that most people in this thread are probably in the first world - so considerations that unlimited texting simply not being available would not be a consideration to most, but it's a fair point to bring up none the less.
On to the costs to much portion - so what do those people (in Ohio) do that don't have unlimited texting? Is any part of their plan unlimited? Maybe that doesn't matter because their need for mobile communication is such that it's not a requirement for them.
What was the original conversation about? how should people communicate? The title of the thread is "why do people still text?" Without scrolling back nearly 300 posts I'm guessing the OP was probably suggesting that most people should be using a messaging client that uses the internet instead of using Texting. But that only applies to people who have enough data in their given budget/needs to cover messaging as well as their other needs. Granted texting is super light weight, so it probably has a fairly low utilization amount - unless you're sending pictures, then all bets are off. -
@JaredBusch said in Why Do People Still Text:
It does not cost too much. Your people in Ohio are paying more than they need in order to not have unlimited texting. This is their problem for not reshopping their old cellular plans.
This is the problem that I have with people texting... people who want to text always blame others for not buying the plans that the texting people want them to have. Bottom line... it's not your decision which plan they should have. They don't want to pay for texting. That you want them to pay for texting isn't relevant.
It's not just me wrong here, you are telling people that anyone not paying for unlimited texting is wrong to not do so. And that's my point... that very feeling is why I think texting is wrong. Nothing should ever make us feel that other people owe it to us to pay for phone plans for how we want to contact them, rather than how they want to be contacted.
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@Dashrender said in Why Do People Still Text:
I'm guessing that most people in this thread are probably in the first world - so considerations that unlimited texting simply not being available would not be a consideration to most, but it's a fair point to bring up none the less.
Available doesn't matter. Unless unlimited texting is free, we can't just expect everyone to have it. Unlimited data is available to everyone, yet not everyone has it. What if I said that I felt that you should all have it and you are wrong not to pay for it?
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@Dashrender said in Why Do People Still Text:
Without scrolling back nearly 300 posts I'm guessing the OP was probably suggesting that most people should be using a messaging client that uses the internet instead of using Texting. But that only applies to people who have enough data in their given budget/needs to cover messaging as well as their other needs.
I agree, it's far cheaper, uses so little data that even free plans in the US covers it (you can't message more in a month than TMobile gives for free) and can be used on other free services like wifi or at home.
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@Dashrender said in Why Do People Still Text:
Granted texting is super light weight, so it probably has a fairly low utilization amount - unless you're sending pictures, then all bets are off.
But it is a legacy service (predates Internet) and isn't billed like a lightweight service and unlike data, if you don't want it, you can't universally shut it off. So you can get charged without your consent (in order to have voice service.)
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@scottalanmiller said in Why Do People Still Text:
Nothing should ever make us feel that other people owe it to us to pay for phone plans for how we want to contact them, rather than how they want to be contacted.
I appreciate things are different in the US, but what about people who don't have internet with their plan, but do have (near) unlimited texting (this applies to members of my family). For those people, texting is the only way to communicate.
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@Carnival-Boy said in Why Do People Still Text:
@scottalanmiller said in Why Do People Still Text:
Nothing should ever make us feel that other people owe it to us to pay for phone plans for how we want to contact them, rather than how they want to be contacted.
I appreciate things are different in the US, but what about people who don't have internet with their plan, but do have (near) unlimited texting (this applies to members of my family). For those people, texting is the only way to communicate.
Is texting really free? Is it really cheaper than data? I'm aware that if we are talking about sub-Saharan Africa that the market is totally different and that texting is the only available service for technological reasons. There is a certain assumption of the developed world, here. Maybe the market in the UK is so dramatically different that this can happen there, but I find that shocking given that it's the opposite in the US, most of the EU and definitely the general developed world. Data is cheap, texting is expensive, data is universal, texting is general phone locked, etc.
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@scottalanmiller said in Why Do People Still Text:
@JaredBusch said in Why Do People Still Text:
It does not cost too much. Your people in Ohio are paying more than they need in order to not have unlimited texting. This is their problem for not reshopping their old cellular plans.
This is the problem that I have with people texting... people who want to text always blame others for not buying the plans that the texting people want them to have. Bottom line... it's not your decision which plan they should have. They don't want to pay for texting. That you want them to pay for texting isn't relevant.
It's not just me wrong here, you are telling people that anyone not paying for unlimited texting is wrong to not do so. And that's my point... that very feeling is why I think texting is wrong. Nothing should ever make us feel that other people owe it to us to pay for phone plans for how we want to contact them, rather than how they want to be contacted.
No, I am not telling them that not paying for unlimited texting is wrong. I am telling you it is f[moderated]ing stupid. Just as stupid as running RAID 5 on spinning drives.
I am not arguing your point about how stupid texting is in general being locked to phones and old tech.
I am arguing that anyone in the U.S. that does not have it though is intentionally paying a higher price for their phone service than they need to and I do not feel sorry for them one little bit.
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@JaredBusch said in Why Do People Still Text:
I am arguing that anyone in the U.S. that does not have it though is intentionally paying a higher price for their phone service than they need to and I do not feel sorry for them one little bit.
I'm not going to disagree there. My complaint is why do other people text them causing this to happen? Why do we create a scenario where everyone, even people wanting the cheapest, smallest plans, aren't allowed or able to do so because other people force charges onto them?
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@scottalanmiller said in Why Do People Still Text:
@JaredBusch said in Why Do People Still Text:
I am arguing that anyone in the U.S. that does not have it though is intentionally paying a higher price for their phone service than they need to and I do not feel sorry for them one little bit.
I'm not going to disagree there. My complaint is why do other people text them causing this to happen? Why do we create a scenario where everyone, even people wanting the cheapest, smallest plans, aren't allowed or able to do so because other people force charges onto them?
Because the cheapest, smallest, plans generally do include unlimited texting.
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@coliver said in Why Do People Still Text:
Because the cheapest, smallest, plans generally do include unlimited texting.
Generally... I guess. They didn't when I first had this concern, for a long time I was unable to get them. And I came back to this after learning about several people, all in less then five days, that all brought up this problem independently without me mentioning it at all. I was shocked to learn how many people I engage with normally still have this issue that their cheaper plans don't yet have unlimited texting.
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And in one case... cannot get it at all, expensive or not.
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I think even $10 plans include unlimited texting now.
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@IRJ said in Why Do People Still Text:
I think even $10 plans include unlimited texting now.
Maybe, but I'm not sure these people are on $10 plans or that they are available. Ohio is a poor state, it's not like NY. We throw around $40 plans like it is nothing. They do not.
Who has $10 plans with that, though? Maybe Sprint?
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Our family has moved to GroupMe for things like family news and get-togethers...too many people were either getting left out of texts or somehow, they would get dropped out of a group text. We also use it at church for staff communication and when I direct a community theatre show, I use it for cast communications.
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@scottalanmiller said in Why Do People Still Text:
@coliver said in Why Do People Still Text:
Because the cheapest, smallest, plans generally do include unlimited texting.
Generally... I guess. They didn't when I first had this concern, for a long time I was unable to get them. And I came back to this after learning about several people, all in less then five days, that all brought up this problem independently without me mentioning it at all. I was shocked to learn how many people I engage with normally still have this issue that their cheaper plans don't yet have unlimited texting.
Right, but when was the last time these people, in the US (sorry @MarigabyFrias), looked at their options? Are they still investing an outdated plan when their are newer, cheaper, plans that they can use?
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@scottalanmiller said in Why Do People Still Text:
@IRJ said in Why Do People Still Text:
I think even $10 plans include unlimited texting now.
Maybe, but I'm not sure these people are on $10 plans or that they are available. Ohio is a poor state, it's not like NY. We throw around $40 plans like it is nothing. They do not.
Who has $10 plans with that, though? Maybe Sprint?
www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2375644,00.asp
Here are some cheap plans that start out at $15 a year.
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And keep in mind that people need coverage. So if Sprint has a great plan for unlimited texts, but doesn't have service, that doesn't make it a good plan even if it is technically cheap. It needs to be someone that covers the needs cost effectively. I know that Sprint has bad coverage there, but T-Mobile is great.
