I observed these two people (one female, one male, so gender equality is reached for the sampling haha), who are lively and talkative with me at the work site become much more concise in text messages. There are several factors I can think of and each of them helps explain the contradiction in a different way:
- Effectiveness & efficiency — In person, it may feel natural to elaborate and chat, while in text, they may want to “just get the point across.”
- The role of the receiver — Since I am the one receiving the texts, maybe they assume I prefer brevity, or they adjust their style depending on who they’re addressing.
- Unclear responsibilities/planning — When tasks aren’t clearly defined, people often keep texts minimal, either to avoid overcommitting or because they themselves don’t have full clarity.
- Texting as a pressure reliever: In person, they might feel a responsibility to fill silences, stay engaging, or match the social energy. But in text, they feel less pressure to perform.
- Fear of being pinned down: since texts can be recorded and revisited, people may keep their words brief to avoid leaving too much trace. The permanence of texts can make people cautious.
- Texting culture: In texting culture, brevity often comes across as cooler or more mysterious.
Does these contradictions in behaviour tell the real version of people and more profound fact about human?
RoofGazers 