Textually Active

BLOG POST: The Norm Experiment

Part I:
FREQUENT UPDATES: Pick either an acquaintance you don't know that well or a parent. In a 24 hour period dramatically increase the amount of information you send this person using a text-based mobile communication technology that you know they can receive (likeIM on your phone, text/SMS, or e-mail on your phone/PDA). For example, you could communicate with them every time you do anything ("hi I am getting on the bus", "arrived in class," "class is boring," "having lunch," "talking with friend.") Describe the reactions.

Part II:
I decided to text my friend’s sister because I am not very close with her and do not know her very well. I usually only call her if I need to get ahold of my friend. Whenever I have seen this girl, she is always texting and always has her phone right next to her so I knew she would be an ideal person to test. Unlike an adult, or even an infrequent text-er might ignore such text messages.

Me: Finished with class for the day!
Her: [No Reply]
Me: I’m gonna go to Walgreens
Her: I think you have the wrong person…
Me: Ugh, I’m so tired! I’m going to take a nap
Her: Alright…I’m confused
Me: Up from my nap! I’m going to go make some food
Her: [No Reply]
Me: There’s nothing on TV!
Her: Ohkk? Why did you need to tell me that?!
Me: I’m starting my homework.
Her: Do you know who this is?!
Me: I have so much to do!!
Her: [No Reply]
---Now it is about 1AM---
Me: I’m so tired!
Her: Are you on something??
Me: I have a headache!
Her: [No Reply]
Me: Alright, I’m going to sleep! Good night!
Her: [No Reply]

While doing this experiment, it was very difficult to restrain from responding to the other person’s replies. I think that the first text that she received, she thought she got it in error because she did not reply to me. As the day went on, I think she got more and more confused. I have never texted anyone such mundane details of my life. After I was finished doing the experiment, I had to tell her why I was texting her all of these details! She laughed and said she was very relieved because she thought I was going crazy.

Part III
One of the norms that I was breaking in this experiment was that we communicate when we have something semi-interesting to say. The things that I was texting to my subject were very boring and no one (especially someone that I am not close with) needs to hear the things that I texted to her. My phone has a certain text message limit that it can hold as well as a certain amount of text messages allowed on my plan. If I texted everyone in my phonebook the same way that I texted my subject, I would be in trouble. Also, I think that if I texted this much information to many people, my phone would break down because of too much usage!

Another norm that I broke was that we communicate (in this case, text) with people that we are close to unless we have some sort of purpose. The only people that I might text the kind of information I texted to my subject would be if I was really close with them. Sometimes my best friend texts me random things from her day and I make fun of her because I think that what she tells me is totally unnecessary. Also, texting is a great tool to send things without talking. If I have a quick question about something in a class and I want to ask someone in my class… I will text them. Or if I am in class, and cannot break the social norm of answering my phone in class, I will text someone to tell them the information that I am trying to convey. So, the design of text messages, although they have their own social rules and norms, helps to solve some of the other problems of other communication technology.