Missing SMS
Do you guys remember the Sprite™ commercial where an attractive girl was strolling around while sending SMS thru her cellular phone, unmindful of the possibility of tripping over (eventually dying from cerebral hemorrhage due to a fractured skull, and becoming fertilizer for cemetery lilies and Bermuda grass) from a few years back? Unless you’ve only recently heard about a gadget known as the television set, you’d probably agree that the same commercial has spawned the term “kitikitxt,” which is a word that describes a person who’s overly addicted to text messaging.
Text messaging has gone a long way indeed. Gone were the days when only a select breed of snooty Globe Telecom subscribers had access to this technology. Nowadays, Globe, together with rival companies Smart and the up-and-coming Sun Cellular, cater to the insatiable and voracious need of Filipinos to send text messages. Sending SMS used to be free in the late 90’s until telecom executives decided they wanted to get richer (Those fat bastards!) and government officials felt that taxing SMS would be an easy way to fund their *ahem!* various projects for national progress and development (Those cheeky crocs!).
SMS has certainly revolutionized the lives of the average Pinoy. Before, college students from the provinces who went to Manila to study had to call their parents via long distance collect (assuming that the old folks have a landline back at home). Now, it only takes a few clicks of the cell phone keypad to reassure your parents that you go straight back to the dorm after class (right!), hear mass and pray regularly (hmmm…), shun barkada gimiks in favor of books and photocopied notes (baloney!), and has remained chaste and virginal despite the distance (nu-ni-nu-ni-nu). You can actually do all of these without having spend a fortune for actual voice calls.
With the Filipinos’ enthusiasm for mobile SMS communication, it’s no small wonder why the Philippines has become the unofficial “text capital of the world.” If you look around, everbody seems to own a cellular phone nowadays. While some are quick to complain about the rising cost of owning a phone, they’re also quick to fall in the rungs of sadness and depression when nobody sends them text messages. Take one of my friends, for example, who breathes out: “How sad… buong araw na wala pa rin nag-text sa akin… walang friend na nagmamahal sa akin…” Now since when did getting text messages get equated with the value of love, or friendship, for that matter?
The truth is, SMS is here to stay since it’s an efficient and relatively cheap way to stay connected with family and friends. And since cellular phone companies make it cost prohibitive to make voice calls anyway, we can’t really blame people for relying too much on text messaging. And as an added bonus, SMS can actually empower people. Before a blind date even transpires, an SMS message swap happens between two potential lovebirds. Nowadays, you can win fabulous prizes and lots of moolah just by sending text messages to some contest. And how else did Sandara Park manage to win second place in a reality talent contest despite sucking in almost everything except for looking irresistibly cute whenever she belts out novelty tunes? It’s SMS, people!
As of this writing, I’m on board a floating ship some 80 miles off the US coast in the Gulf of Mexico. For the past three weeks, my phone has been relegated to serving as my alarm clock since the chances of attaining network coverage in this part of the world is probably similar to getting struck by lightning on a clear summer day. I sorely miss receiving text messages now, and I’ve gotten a couple of e-mail inquiries by friends demanding an explanation why I never text back and why the heck my phone is “unattended or out of coverage area.”
Before leaving the Philippines, I was cheerily informed by a Globe Telecom agent that my phone is on “auto roaming,” meaning I’ll be able to use my cell phone abroad. “Pero nasa barko ako,” I explained, “baka di ko rin magagamit ang phone ko?” “Try nyo na din po,” the agent answered back with a plastered smile, “baka malakas ang signal ng mga ka-tie up namin sa Louisiana.” The “kitikitxt” side of me cheered "Hurrah!" I mean, wouldn’t it be cool to keep receiving your txtm8’s daily greetings, jokes, and cute icons in the shape of teddy bears and hearts even if you’re about a couple of time zones away?
As I happily left the Globe Telecom Center, I saw an image of Sharon Cuneta in a poster with the latest model cell phone pressed against one of the ears of her enormous moon face. Printed near her dreamy gaze is a definitive word, cast in bold face, that attempts to convey that distance between people, may it be inter-island or inter-continental, can be easily bridged through state-of-the-art mobile phone technology (or in the poster’s case, a lousy pink ribbon), and soothe the sadness and longing from extended periods of isolation: Posible.
Yeah, right. Posible my a$$!
