Do you have problems instant messaging people?

Post Reply New Topic

No way I hate IM. I shouldn't have to be afraid or nervous making small talk, especially in the confort of my home in front of my own PC.
But I keep my MSN address just in case. This one person I was IM'ing got pissed off coz I wouldn't converse enough (I was always the one to IM them first BTW). That was in june and I havent IM'ed with anyone since.

The only way I can properly communicate with people is over IM.

I find it a lot easier to communicate online than in person.

I have only a small group of friends that I IM, but they're people I know in person. There were times when I had to block the IM feature because spammers or creeps would IM me. Usually, I prefer e-mail or forums like this one. There are friends who I only communicate through e-mail because it keeps the phone bill lower. The only time I call someone is if they're on the same cellphone network as me because it doesn't use minutes, and it's free.

ditto, I dont like using them. they are only slightly better to me than using the phone(which I also hate & barely use). Id rather post on forms in threads(like this one) io use emails.
also after a while I want to go do something else but I cant b/c I feel rude telling the person i want to quit talking with them.

This is how I feel. I talk to one or two people on MSN and find it much easier to talk to them this way then I would face to face. The people I talk to share my interest in the police so we usually talk about this. I do sometimes find myself not caring about what they are talking about e.g. what the did last night or something but because I'm not talking to them face to face they dont know this. I can reply with 'that sounds kool.' or 'awesome' and sound interested. Also if there a long pause in a conversation where you dont knnow what to say this can be explain away by saying something like 'sorry I was quiet I busy doing something' and it doesn't make the conversation awkward. Also when you want to stop talking you dont have to explain yourself, you can just say 'I've got to go now, bye' where as talking to someone face to face it's like you need a reason to stop talking.

I dont go in chatrooms though and this is the only message board that I have been able to post without thinking 'am I doing this right?'

I prefer instant messaging over the telephone any day. I'm phone-phobic, so it allows me to communicate with people through text as opposed to verbal words. If the person lives down the street from me, though, I do prefer to just say it to them in person, provided I'm comfortable enough to be good friends with them (and judging from that my MSN list has six people, two of which I have day-to-day contact with, I ought to damn well be).

I've found that I find people more annoying over instant messenger than vice-versa. I usually block them before they block me, thus why my block list has 200 people on it. :p I cannot stand conversation with people that don't bother to use proper English or over-abbreviate things. I can feel my brain cells dying when that happens.

I like IM, but I don't like feeling like I have to entertain the person I'm chatting with. I can't talk long with someone who only gives one word responses and doesn't seem intested at all in a thing I have to say. When I ask about them, one word responses are a quick turn off too. Then I end up talking about myself and I don't like doing that.

I guess that's why when I do IM or email someone, much like in life, I prefer to have a topic. If the topic is something that we have in common, even better.

Yes, but that's because I don't speak to anyone on instant message, not because I have any trouble using it. If people would like to speak to me, they can e-mail me (or, as is the case here, use the PM function).

I like IM as it is impersonal and i don't have to be embarrassed if i say something stupid. It is a wonderful freedom and i find i become extremely outspoken and say things i wouldn't normally say.
Admittedly i only IM a few people i know well and when i don't feel sociable i just switch to appear offline.
My one problem with IM is people who don't use correct english, as i usually talk to the same people i can usually figure out what they're saying but with some abbreviations or people i don't know so well, i am constantly asking them to explain which becomes annoying after a while.
I abhor text messaging, what's the point. It takes ten messages to do something that a two minute conversation would accomplish, and is very confusing.

I'm with you, but then I'm 50!

the last time i had IM was in 2001. i never botherd to sign up for it since, for some reason.