Text when you can’t talk

PETALING JAYA: For some, SMS-ing has become a part of life. For others, it’s merely a convenience.

“I’d rate SMS a nine out of 10 in terms of importance,” said Maureen Tan, 26, a brand planner in advertising.

“It’s cheap and convenient, especially since I need to keep in touch with people overseas all the time in my job.”

Tan started using SMS almost 10 years ago, while she was still a college student.

Engineer Ho Wei Chong, 28, admitted to starting late.

“I only started SMS-ing after I got a phone capable of T9 predictive text input, which made it a lot easier.

“Now I SMS very often, but only for personal matters. I don’t use it for work because it’s faster to just call a person, especially if it’s urgent.”

Ho said the only time he ever sent a work-related SMS was when he did not really want to talk to the person.

“Sometimes, it’s better to SMS your boss if you want to call in sick. I’d rather not have him interrogate me about why I’m unable to come to work,” he said with a grin.

Generally, Ho did not think much about SMS-based information services but liked the one offered by his bank, which sent him text notifications if cheques had cleared.

“I don’t really believe in other SMS-based information services because some of them are expensive while others don’t provide clear instructions on how to unsubscribe.”