To Text Or Not To Text, That Is The Question

I was late to the smartphone party.  It was 2013 before I dumped the flip phone for a "smartphone".  Anyone who used a flip phone knows how cumbersome it is to text on one, even with text aids like T9 in place.  Because of that, I discouraged my friends and family from texting me.  If they had to reach me, go old school and actually call me.

One reason for my smartphone hesitation was price.  I couldn't justify spending $500+ dollars for a phone.  I thought that a phone was for calling people.  If I wanted to be online, I had a laptop for that.

In 2013, I found a sale on a new smartphone through my carrier for only $100 with 2gb of data.  I bought it and never looked back.  Now I'm on my 5th smartphone, a Google Pixel 2, that I bought on sale, of course, and I wonder how I lived all that time with a "dumb phone".  Perspective is a funny thing.  I used to hate texting, now I prefer it over voice-calling. 

Now that we are all texting, many states have a texting-while-driving ban in place.  South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska all have banned texting-while-driving.  Texting-while-driving in Minnesota is banned and the state recently banned hand-held voice-calling too.  If you are going to be driving in another state, check the cell phone laws.