Why Grandma Texts Better Than You

Text messaging opened up a new—and better—method of communication for Matthew DeBord and his mother (gone were the days of “rambling, nonlinear” phone calls), but he was shocked when he realized his 70-year-old mom wasn’t just good at texting: “Mom texted like someone who’s been texting for years. Mom texted better than text-addicted teenagers. Miley Cyrus couldn’t text this well,” he writes for DoubleX.

DeBord finally realized his mother’s background—similar to many in her generation—in shorthand, dictation, and typing make her the ideal texter. “To me, no longer a kid, this is all charming, rather than disturbing,” he writes, delighted that his mother “discovered that there’s something that belongs to the land of the teen that she can do as well as anyone 50 years her junior. And yes, thatz gr8, Mom, and I luv u 4 it.”
(More text message stories.)