Texting & romance

Is it appropriate to say "I love you" for the first time or break up a relationship via text message? Or even ask someone out? These are the questions that plague the digital generation, not to mention avid phone texters, males and females alike. But the former are more likely to let the text do the heavy lifting, where Net-aided romance is concerned, USATODAY reports, citing fresh research from the UK's Sheffield Hallam University. Texting's extremely convenient, but convenience usually doesn't inform etiquette, and – here's a big word – the "disinihibition" of electronic communications (reduced inhibition because of reduced signals and cues like body language) has gotten everybody thinking harder about social decorum. It also has something to do with power in relationships, according to USATODAY: "Text has emerged as a way for some daters to do less, act as if they care less and, in doing so, gain the upper hand in a new relationship." The article is more about adults, but teenagers, among the most avid texters and IM-ers, have these questions too. USATODAY also has a sidebar with tips for good textiquette. For more on disinhibition at the teen level, see "Cybersocializing, cyberbullying." For the latest on texting and high school sports, see "e-Recruiting" in the Columbus [Ohio] Dispatch.