Recently I was out with a friend of mine for something to eat. While we were sitting there, she was looking at her phone with a really stupid look on her face. I asked her what was up. She went through this whole scenario with a new guy she’d met. He was cold with her, she thought he wasn’t interested and then suddenly he started to open up, and now in her eyes he was Mr. Wonderful.

She looks at me and says, “I really like this guy. I think we have something special going on. I want to send him a heartfelt text. What should I say?”

Wow, so pedestrian, a heartfelt text!?

Have we become that backward as a culture you have to send a heartfelt text to someone you’re developing “something special” with?

There is no such thing as a heartfelt text. In fact, anything really personal or romantic you should say in person. Texting is for wimps, it really is. If you can’t say something to someone in person, it means you have a problem with intimacy. Texting is never heartfelt. Sure it’s nice to send a sweet little text like, “Thinking of you. I can’t wait to see you. Last night was wonderful. You’re the best.”

But to send a long meaningful message via text, shows the lack of intimacy and disconnect we’ve created in our culture these days. We walk around disconnected from everyone around us. We’re scared to let go. We’re afraid to share and communicate. We’re afraid to talk to each other and open up.

Texting is a cop out, and heartfelt texts are an illusion. The way you show someone you care is by holding their hand and telling them to their face how much they mean to you. It’s showing them with real actions how you feel about them. Think about it, we don’t even send birthday cards anymore. We send ecards or write on someone’s Facebook wall. Instead of picking the phone up and singing happy birthday down the phone to a friend, we send them a plain text.

What Is a Heartfelt Text Anyway?

When I say something heartfelt to a woman, I want to look into her eyes. I want to see her loving eyes. I want to see her face, and I want to see how she reacts to what I say. That’s what life is about. Life is about sharing experiences together, not sharing words on a page. It’s nuts. We even have phone sex with “real” face-time now too.

We can SEE the person we’re having “sex” with and tap on the screen to tell them which way to move, and what to touch. What the hell is going on with the world? A very clever guy recently made a YouTube video that went viral, which looks at our obsession with the digital age, and more worryingly how much of life we miss because we constantly have a digital device attached to us. I want you to watch it below, and then to think VERY carefully about the way you live life. It’s time to put down the phone for good, and to start talking again.