The Washington PostThe Washington Post

Texting do's and don't's for 2023

By Tatum Hunter

01 Sep 2023 · 6 min read

informed Summary

  1. Texting has become the default mode of communication, replacing letters, voice mails, phone calls, and emails, but the collapse of contexts makes it difficult to know which rules to follow. The rules of texting have been disrupted by the global pandemic, social media apps, and the breakdown of work-life boundaries, leading to contradictory advice and generational differences in texting etiquette.

Lizzie Post once sent a text message checking in on a friend with a new baby. The response came late - a full year later.

Would her great-great-grandmother, the prolific writer and titan of American etiquette Emily Post, be horrified? The younger Post says she doesn't think so.

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