Am I being 'antique' or 'etiquette'?

Do u really need an etiquette in talking to someone using YM, MSN or phone SMS? As for me I feel I do. It is hard to tell the reaction or outcome when u communicate with someone without looking at the person’s face. An expression on the face tells everything.

But in this current world situation the cheapest n easiest way to communicate is thru this modern technology – internet. If u r not into it u r like living in another century. I used to communicate with my friends, brothers n relatives thru YM. When I ‘talk’ to them I type the words exactly like what I wanted to say… plain n straightforward.

But when I looked at my daughters language when they chatting with their friends – it’s so unacceptable. When I asked them do you have to say those words to your friends – they say it’s a NORM thing mom.. n I said do u say 'I love u' to all the people? And they said they just said it n didn’t mean it at all. And what about those sign that are like , n lots more that u said to people?

You know what they said to me – come on mom.. don’t take those so literally. I said of course I take what I get n if that kind of sign u’re giving to an adult like me I will of course think u meant it. Well.. at the end they all got a long lectures from me!

I am not trying to be paranoid or a kind of ‘old-fashioned’ here. But I believe whatever u say or type n if u don’t mean it, please at the first place don’t start it. The same thing goes if u send SMS thru phone.

If u type something wrongly with missing words or even question marks, it could mean something else. But it is still depends who is the recipient. If u used to communicate with that person then maybe the person is used to your style.

I myself even had experienced typing misleading sms to people. And even send it to wrong people! It’s so risky n I swear that I never want it to happen again.. With the current super advance technology that we have now, we don’t want to be left out. We might as well make full use of it n of course with precautions.

This morning I sent sms to my father with an expectation of overwhelming reply. But indeed he replied with a question that struck me for a moment. I tried to take it positive. Maybe the question is just a concern n not a rejection. I can’t see his face n expression but deep inside me I know that he didn’t mean it.

Well.. if my daugthers read this they surely put me in the 'antique' category.. sorry girls