The !

As a member of the generation that communicates through our fingers rather than our mouths, the ! has taken on a whole new meaning. After having an insightful conversation with my friends we realized there was something profoundly interesting about the ! Long gone are the days of speaking off the cuff, now we plan what we text, get a consensus from friends, and then express ourselves in 160 characters or less. James Joyce wouldn't stand a chance. For example, a text message that reads "Thanks for dinner" doesn't have the same meaning as "Thanks for dinner!" The ! adds the much needed emotion and inflection to the text message. We're evolving into a culture of concise communication, and we're losing our individuality simultaneously.

Our voices have a range of !'s, but texting makes them all equal. It makes everyone seem similar, when in reality they're not. Sometimes I want to give a 1/2 !, but have to resort to the full ! However creative one might be, they're still limited by text messaging.

In the flirting/dating phases of a relationship, it all boils down to the ! No one wants to be in a situation where someone could have added !, but didn't. It's insulting, painful, and so much more powerful than it needs to be. Maybe the sender had a good night but didn't want to sound too excited; too bad. You have to make a choice. It's either, "I had fun tonight too" or "I had fun tonight too!" Texting is great for people that don't like to communicate, but awful for those who do. We text all the time enough don't talk enough. My advice: rest your fingers!