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Bored Panda

Lifestyle

Justinas Keturka

90 Hilarious Texts That Might Make You Cringe Or Cry-Laugh

VeryWell Mind

We used to communicate face-to-face by writing letters or picking up a big, bulky telephone. Nowadays, billions of people have access to a tiny keyboard, mobile data, and the ability to type whatever they want and hit “send,” without properly thinking it through.

Text messaging has opened up a world of instant miscommunication, chaos, drama and comedy gold. For every “I trust this email finds you well” is an unhinged text that somehow got lost in translation, was written without context or common sense, and never expected to find its way into the public domain.

Thanks to the nifty screenshot function, the internet has blessed us with unlimited opportunities to read other people’s once-private text messages in all their hilarious glory. Bored Panda has compiled a list of some of the best ones for you to scroll through while your notifications are muted. Don’t forget to upvote your favorites.

#1 Gramp's Nickname:

#2 The Wizard's Visit

#3 Intertwined Feet

There are more mobile phone subscriptions (8.31 billion) than there are people on the planet (8.02 billion), and 65% of them use text messaging. That’s around 5.4 billion individuals typing, hitting send and dropping decent, polite, rude, chaotic or completely unhinged communication bombs all around the world. And the war of words is only expected to heat up.

“Globally, the number of people who send and receive text messages is predicted to surpass 6 billion by 2027,” reveals the SlickText site.

Not too surprisingly, Gen Z is the generation leading the pack. The site notes that many are glued to their texts and group chats, with 48% checking their text messages more than 10 times per day.

#4 A Touching Good Night

#5 Some Very Insistent Pushes

#6 Intense Milk Drama

According to SlickText, 80% of people surveyed said text was the number one thing they use their phones for. 1 in 3 people said they check their texts within one minute of receiving them, and over half text back within 2 minutes.

An analysis by Subtext, a text messaging and conversational marketing platform, found similar results. The company went through performance data from more than 10 billion text messages sent to 28 million subscribers across eight different industries.

“SMS open rates average 98%, with 95% of messages opened within three minutes, far faster than email or social," the report reveals.

#7 A Cry For Help

#8 Dad's Answer

#9 The New War

According to SellCell, a whopping 25 billion text messages are sent globally every single day. That’s 1 billion per hour, 17 million per minute, or 289,000 per second. It’s no wonder that there’s so much chaos, drama and comedy being screenshot and posted online.

While text messaging is fast and convenient, it can’t compare to face-to-face human interaction. And that’s why we see so much miscommunication happening over screens. Text messages cannot accurately convey tone, emotion, facial expressions, gestures, body language, eye contact, oral speech, or other conversational cues.

#10 Mom's Linguistic Breakthrough

#11 The Life And Time's Of Chris Crockpot

#12 The Summoning Of Hector

“All too often, relationships go sour due to miscommunication via email and text messages,” warns Scribendi. “To keep this from happening, simply avoid using these mediums to have important conversations. Instead, request the kind of communication you prefer, whether that's face-to-face or over the phone.”

The site adds that when people communicate primarily via text, they're much less likely to have meaningful conversations.

#13 ...rew

#14 Jerry's Big Idea

#15 The Wonder Of AI

Text messaging has introduced us to a whole new way to deal with conflict: “Fexting,” or fighting over text. And sometimes, we don’t even realize that we’re in the thick of it…

“In an in-person conversation, many cues can tell you that a conversation is heading in the wrong direction. However, that may be harder to discern via text,” explains VeryWell Mind. “One way to recognize you’re entering argument mode is by noticing your emotions. If you start to feel angry, hurt, or upset, you may be in an argumentative space. Experiencing physical signs of anxiety can also indicate that the disagreement is more than minor.”

#16 A Strange New Creature

#17 The Dangers Of Technology

#18 The Boss's Brand New Employee

The site adds that a straightforward way to know that you have moved into an argument via text is “if you find your responses getting longer, where you feel the need to explain yourself and your position in depth.”

That’s because texting is typically a brief form of communication. When you start typing a thesis to back up your argument, you may be heading for disaster.

“Texting is generally a quick back-and-forth exchange, and when arguing, it can get even faster. It may be tempting not to read all of a person’s reply before you respond again, and the more upset you get, the harder it may be to express yourself clearly or to clearly understand the person you’re fighting with,” warns VeryWell Mind.

#19 Grandpa's Great Lunch

#20 The Evolution Of Language

#21 A Historic Day In Pizza History

While experts generally don’t encourage “fexting,” there are some instances where it can be useful. For example, if you need written evidence or documentation of something. “If you are having a problem with harassment at work with a coworker or superior, written evidence of mistreatment can make your case much stronger,” explains the VeryWell Mind site.

However, it adds that it’s not always necessary to engage. You can simply screenshot the texts, file them safely away and produce them when needed.

#22 An Offensive Emoji

#23 Dad's Appreciation Of Art

#24 Don’t Know The Origin Or The Whole Story

Sometimes, the biggest “fexts” arise from miscommunication. One study of 2,000 adults found that a third have fallen out with someone after misreading text messages. The same survey found that one in five have wrongly assumed someone was in a mood with them, because they got the tone of a message completely wrong.

Additionally, four in 10 said they can spend ‘hours’ puzzling over someone’s wording or tone in a text, wasting precious time trying to figure out if they are actually annoyed or only joking.

Can you relate? Let us know in the comments section below...