Are texts and emails killing communications in relationships?

It is estimated that more than ten million of texts and emails are sent each second. In fact emailing and texting have largely replaced other forms of communications and continues to do so. This is partially due to the decrease in costs of texting and emailing as compared to the more traditional forms of communication such as letter writing and phoning. There are increasing number of offers by both the mobile and Internet companies that contribute to the attraction of using texts and emails as the main mode of communication. In this sense its not surprising that emailing and texting does form a main part of communication in most relationships and thus can impact the relationships either positively or negatively. Whether the impact of texting or emailing is positive on negative to any relationship will depend on a number of factors.

Firstly is the age of the individuals in the relationship. This is to say that although texting and emailing is no longer exclusive to the young, the more mature couples are less likely to rely on texting and emails as the main form of communication than their much younger counterparts. Thus texting and emailing are less likely to cause any major impacts in the relationships of the older couples than the younger ones to some degree. The older couples are more likely perhaps to prefer conversations over the phone or face to face, this will limit misunderstandings because the couple are able to interpret what is said more accurately. Telephone and/or face-to-face conversations allow the individuals to detect what is been communicated by the tone of voice, body language, gut-feeling and so on thus the conversation is more intimate. However when texting or emailing, misunderstandings are more likely to occur as the individuals can only relate through what is been written. Despite the attempts to personalize and therefore make texting and emailing more intimate by such methods as the introduction of 'emoticon', use of certain abbreviations like 'lol - laughing out loud', to try to convey the mood/tone the text/email is written in to the receiver, misunderstandings are still more likely to occur by these forms of communication over the old-fashioned ones.

However regardless of the age difference in the use of texting and emails in any relationship, there are times when emailing/texting can have positive impact on a relationship. In times when we are in environment in which we are unable or rather it's inappropriate to speak on the phone such as at work, sending/receiving a text to/from your special someone just letting them know that you are thinking of them can be very uplifting. The convenience and discreet of texting/emailing especially for a relationship that is already in good communication and stable can provide that added extra spice. Unlike phone conversations texting/emailing provide a more discreet way of communication, in that others around you are unable to know (over hear) what you and your loved one are discussing. Thus texting/emailing can allow couples to be 'naughty' (i.e., be sexually playful etc) even in places where if others knew of the nature of the communication it may be deemed as inappropriate such as in a work place. This type of intimacy can be very positive to a relationship regardless of the age of the couple.

 Secondly the impact of texting/emailing in a relationship will also depend on the depth of the relationship. In other words how well the couple know each other. In cases whereby the couple know each other very well, its likely that the couple will be more likely to interpret each others moods and so on and respond accordingly without causing misunderstandings. However if the individuals have just started dating, using texting/email as the main form of communication can increase chances of misinterpretation and thus misunderstanding. Someone who doesn't know you well enough to know your quirks, sense of humor and so on is more likely to misunderstand certain things you may text/email out-of-habit than one who is used to you and vice versa.

In conclusion, texting/emailing like any other form of communication in a relationship can impact the relationship. How this impact manifests will depend on the factors such as those mentioned above. Ultimately in the end the final outcome of the relationship will depend on those in it.