What your phone texting hand position says about you

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This is BoingBoing, so someone will presumably be here soon to obsess over the criminality of anyone holding their phones in portrait mode ever for anything even if it’s easier and more functional that way.

But seriously - I often text like the left-most picture, but with the phone in landscape mode. It’s a small phone, so the screen keyboard is tiny if it only spans the narrow side of the screen.

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what about the position where you just hold the phone in one hand, and use that same hand’s thumb to do the letter and word selection? I can’t smoke and text simultaneously if I have to use both hands to work the phone.

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The technology illustrated below far predates texting.

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This summer I noticed someone no-handing it at a urinal so he could use both hands to text. Either it was an urgent text message, or he really wanted to tweet that he was peeing in an airport lavatory.

In any case, once you’ve got the smoke lit, you’re reasonably OK, no?

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Finally, I have proof to show my kids! They laugh at me for speaking my texts and emails, but really, why not use the technology available? It’s so much faster than I can type on a tiny phone.

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You could no-hand the cigarette, but I hate doing that because it always leads to smoke getting in my eyes. I think my eye-sockets must double as fume hoods.

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I dunno I’m about as geeky as they come to computers, but I abhor texting. It is just so much easier to say what you want, IMO. Also, if it isn’t accurate, it isn’t efficient, in my book.

But the thrill of sexting in the living room while your parents are watching TV gets a little too real when you’re whispering naughty words into your phone’s mic.

:flushed:

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Seems to me the middle pic, but landscape instead of portrait, affords the most useful way of presenting an ambiguous façade to the world. Are you texting or are you taking a picture?

Using two thumbs like the left most doesn’t work well with Swype-like keyboards. I either one hand it or hold and swipe with the other.

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I assumed the third pic was nose typing,… Which, as a Minnesotan who wears gloves for both need and comfort, I sometimes find to be the best option.

I mean you can shout your text into the phone, but you have to pull your face mask down even further.

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Yep, I’ve definitely used my nose to navigate some basic things in my phone during gloves season.

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Yeah, but ordinary folk have one eye shut, cos it’s red and watering, and it hurts. Cause we ain’t Bogey.

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This is to follow on to Mark’s post WATCH: Designer uses nose and lips instead of hands from a few days ago, right?

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I’m old, but I’m a one-hander. And I even punctuate and capitalize.

And I also know better than to think that “technicolor television” was ever an actual thing.

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Hm. I’m “old” and use the leftmost method (albeit slowly) to text on my non-smart flip-phone. What does it all mean?!

I use Swype, so I text with the thumb of the hand holding the phone for the most part. But more importantly, if you played Goldeneye, you are not young.

I pay someone else to text on my Vertu for me.

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I don’t smoke, but I text exactly like that most of the time. One hand, same thumb.