It’s a well-known fact that what we say is only a small portion of the communication process. Other factors, such as tone, inflection and body language, get lost in text messages.

We become transmitters of binary code, sending out electronic signals to be interpreted by the recipient. In texts, the personality is taken out of communicating.

This isn’t to say that texting is a horrible concept; it just needs to be used efficiently, and that means only being used for brief and trivial statements that require maybe one response before the exchange is over.

Even so, there have been instances in my life that have shown me just how much can go wrong in a simple text.

One such example was a case in which I was the texter. I had made plans with a girl in my calculus class to meet up and study for the final, and I realized that I wasn’t sure if I needed to pick her up. I meant to send the message “Let me know if you end up wanting a ride,” but thanks to the trusty auto-fill function, I was about a nanosecond away from sending “Let me know if you end up wanting a family.”

Somehow I think that would’ve sent the wrong signals.

But the texting problem doesn’t stop at its inadequacy. The real issues begin when texting etiquette is transferred to other modes of interaction.

I’ve heard horror stories from professors of students replacing “you” with the letter “u” on multiple occasions, along with other crimes against the English language.

These are college students writing college papers — I would expect a third grader to know better than that.

This concept also bleeds over into speaking, in which it’s common to hear people use terms like “OMG” and “LOL” in regular conversation.

But wait, doesn’t it take as long to say “LOL” as it does “Laugh Out Loud?” It defeats the purpose of using an acronym, doesn’t it? And if you said “LOL” (pronounced here as “lawl”) instead of actually laughing, was what you were responding to really that funny?

But this isn’t necessarily the fault of texting. When it comes down to it, people have to be held accountable for their own actions, and if I wanted a ban on texting just because some people misuse it, then I would also have to want a ban on everything from the Internet to chewing gum.

I’m not using it as a scapegoat for every communication problem. After all, plain old bad spelling has been around for as long as written language, and people have been incorporating this “text lingo” into their lives since instant messaging hit the scene more than 10 years ago.

So what exactly is the role of texting in the downfall of mature, professional communication if these problems were already around?

Well, when instant messaging was becoming popular, it was available only through computers in situations in which chatting was leisurely, not necessary.

People still frequently talked to others on phones when they wanted to discuss important topics. Plus, e-mail doesn’t always guarantee immediate responses.

But now that these functions can be done through one device, people can get the best of both worlds: something that’s impersonal, such as e-mail, and almost as fast as talking. Now we can shut human interaction out of our lives entirely.

More and more, people are using text messages as means of avoiding confrontation.

According to a poll conducted by Covonia, a cough remedy sold in the United Kingdom, 20 percent of employees now text in sick to work, a quarter of whom do it just to feel less guilty. However, the poll also revealed that 42 percent of the employers feel that those who text might be lying.

The decline in social skills and tact is surprisingly blatant once you notice the situations in which people choose to text. People text in class, during movies, at dinner, while driving and at work.

According to Kristi Gustafson, a blogger for The Times Union, three cashiers were texting as she went through their lines in a period of just one week.

Believe it or not, the effects are broader than one might think. It’s rude when people constantly look at their phones while their attention should be focused elsewhere. This disgruntles those who have to put up with it, and those who text seem lazy and unprofessional.

With so much room for error and a marred reputation, why do people text so often?

When I asked a coworker this question, she told me it was because texting feels more comfortable and casual, whereas dialogue can cause stress.

If you get stressed having a simple conversation with a friend, then you may have some serious social issues, and using texting as a crutch will only make them worse.

A study done at the University of Plymouth found texters to be “more lonely and socially anxious” than those who used their phones for talking, and I only see that trend doing more harm for such people.

Texting should be used delicately and shouldn’t be treated as a standard in communicating. If this mind set doesn’t change, it’s just another step toward major communication problems that will only get worse as time goes on.

– Thomas Hummer is a junior in English from Ames.