Indeed text messaging has revolutionized and enriched the ways Filipinos communicate. The cellular phone has not only become a status symbol, but at the same time an essential communication tool in daily life. The celfone and texting for many have in fact become a necessity that one feels he or she cannot live well without it.

By texting, Filipinos create a sense of connectedness; the sense of making people feel that they are within reach of anyone, anytime, anywhere. Of course the affordability of texting is a contributing factor.

People use symbols to communicate or express their self-concept and culture is expressed and deepened through symbols. The celfone is a symbol of the Filipinos’ openness to change, to advances in technology, of the need to reach or communicate with persons in an accelerated rate. It also serves as a status symbol for many people just like wearing a branded watch or even braces. This is in line with Marshall McLuhan’s theory that the medium is the message which explains that “each medium, independent of the content it mediates, has its own intrinsic effects which are its unique message. “The medium is the message” because it is the “medium that shapes and controls the scale and form of human association and action. The celfone moves persons to communicate and thus to form, deepen, or even sever relations.

Texting is a relatively new means of communicating (The first text message was sent in the early 1990s) which Filipinos find to be very appealing and has accepted into their lifestyle. It answers the need to communicate, to send and receive messages across distances in an accelerated rate and to make life easier and smarter with the advent of electronic transactions through texting.

An article entitled “Text Messaging your Teenager” by Mary McCarthy in 2007 revealed the findings of psychologist Dr. Ruth Peters to a survey conducted in 2006 which indicated that 63% of parents who use text messaging believe it improves their communication with their children.
According to Dr. Peters, text messaging is a great option for parents and kids to stay in touch because:
• Parents get a quick answer to their questions. This is good for today’s busy kids, who are often in between school and extra-curricular activities or hanging out with friends, and might not, or in some cases can’t, take the time for a normal conversation.
• Kids are more apt to respond to text messages when they are with their friends. It is more discreet and their answers don’t have to be as detailed as in a conversation.
• You, or they, don’t have to worry about tone of voice. Some kids tend to become defensive when they hear their parent’s tone of voice, which often results in delayed return phone calls or avoidance. Texting helps to take tone of voice and misinterpretation out of the mix and can improve response times.
• Texting allows you to enter your child’s world. By using text messaging, parents can communicate in the style their children are used to, and become more hip in their children’s eyes. An example might be a parent who sends a text to her daughter on a blind date to ask her how the date is going. “Is he Mr. Wonderful?” or “Is he a frog or a prince?”
• Text messaging allows parents to compose and edit a message before pressing send. If emotion surrounds an issue, Dr. Peters often counsels parents to write things out before actually saying them to their kids to help edit their thoughts. By making parents think about it more, texting removes explosive emotions from potentially charged communications and situations.
• Texting vs. calling gives kids more space but allows parents to keep in touch as often as necessary. For instance, it is a good way to double check their child’s whereabouts without nagging.
• Text messaging can also be used to strengthen parent-child bonds, and let kids know that their parents are thinking of them. Send them a text wishing them good luck before the school play audition, or let them know you are thinking of them if there is something they were concerned about such as a difficult test or a grade.
Source: www.prnewswire.com

From the context and reasons cited in preceding article, we can very well say that text messaging or texting as a form of communication is a help to reduce uncertainties and ambiguities in relationships as it has become a way to improve communications. Yes, we cannot discount the fact that text messaging has its pitfalls or downside, but the sheer number of people using it to symbolically relate with others and the frequency it is used prove that its benefits outweigh the disadvantages which justify why text messaging is very much appreciated and valued by the Filipinos. Without a doubt, text messaging is here to stay and will continue to be an integral part of the life of many Filipinos.

After a decade of marriage, and fighting over every little thing, Lt. Caleb Holt, a veteran firefighter and his wife, Catherine, a public relations officer in a hospital, are on the verge of a divorce.

Caleb lives by the old firefighter’s adage: Never leave your partner behind — especially in a fire. But when it comes to marriage, he is ready to call it quits. Yet as he and his prepare to enter divorce proceedings, Caleb’s father asks his son to try an experiment called the Love Dare as a last ditch effort to save his son’s marriage and in the process reclaim his faith in God.

The conflict in the relationship between husband and wife is presented early on the movie – marital love going up in smoke for both feel unappreciated, disrespected and unloved. The problem is compounded by the insistent nagging of the wife, the husband’s thoughtless obsession with internet pornography and hurting and bitter words spoken quite often to each other.

To compensate the need for love and affection, Catherine flirts, share lunches and longing glances with a kind physician who is interested in her. The film presents a gradual deepening of their relationship from being mere co-workers or acquaintances to romantic interest as they gradually share the deeper part of their lives to each other.

When Caleb accepts the 40-day Love Dare suggested by his father, things started slowly turning around but with much difficulty. Caleb attempts to save the marriage by religiously following the prescriptions of Love Dare such as … Day 1: Resolve nothing to say nothing negative to your wife today. Day 2: Do something unexpected for her as an act of kindness. Day 3: Buy something that tells her you’re thinking of her. Day 4: Call to check if she needs anything … Day 16: Pray for her. Day 17: Listen to her. Day 18: Study her and so on.

Catherine is surprised by this unexpected change in Caleb. She finds his motives suspicious and tells him about it. Surely he can’t be interested in restoring their marriage. So the intended message sent by Caleb is not perceived in the same way by Catherine. Since Catherine dislikes her husband, the violation from expected behavior, though good, such as Caleb’s efforts to show acts of love and affection to his wife, was seen in a negative light.

Caleb almost quits if not for his father who encourages him to make a go for his marriage for the last time. Secretly, Caleb purchases the wheelchair needed by Catherine’s father who suffered a stroke, which Catherine has been saving for.

In a touching encounter, he asks Catherine for forgiveness for “trampling on her with his words and actions” and tells her that he doesn’t want to live the rest of his life without her. Unfortunately, Catherine does not feel the same way about him and tells him that in a matter of days she will be signing their divorce papers.

The succeeding scenes show Catherine learning what Caleb did for her father. She then realizes that all of Caleb’s efforts were sincere. She visits him in the fire department and asks for forgiveness and another chance. The film ends with Caleb and Catherine renewing their marriage vows in a Church ceremony, where they expressed their love in words, that this time really meant forever.

Caleb and Catherine’s struggles and renewed love for each other also renewed their faith in God. When Caleb tells his father that the Love Dare changed his life, John corrects him, God changed your life, the Love Dare was just a tool he used.

I experienced a difficult situation recently and pleaded with God to help me out of my difficulty.  To make a long story short, after a period of waiting, I realized that God will not answer my prayer in the way I wanted.  What did I do? Well, I refused to face the inevitable.

During prayer, after asking the Holy Spirit to enlighten my mind, I was surprised to receive this unmistakable message from the Lord. In my heart God told me that the reason why I couldn’t accept the inevitable was because I was rebelling against Him for not giving me what I wanted.  I didn’t know that I was rebelling.  But when I allowed myself to be open and humble, I realized that what God told me in prayer was true.

Seeing this side of me, I realized that God was inviting me to trust Him more, to have greater faith in Him, to always believe that His will is always best for me.

Using the Symbolic Interactionism theory as my framework for my intrapersonal reflection, I was able to see that my decisions and actions such as to pray to God to ask for help and refusing to accept what was inevitable, were in accordance to my subjective understanding of my particular situation.  I prayed to God for help, because I was experiencing a difficulty and I felt that praying to God is a big step in solving my problem.  I refused to face the inevitable because I didn’t want to experience suffering.

My interaction or communication with God in prayer was goal-driven.  I wanted God to answer my prayer in the way I wanted, which is characteristic of Symbolic Interactionism,  as it espouses that persons are always attempting to achieve goals by interacting with other people.

George Herbert Mead, one of the proponents of Symbolic Interactionism says that, “You have a self because you can respond to yourself as an object.”  A person therefore can react favorably or unfavorably to himself.  Another thing that Mead pointed out was the idea of self-concept.  The primary way a person sees himself is through role taking or assuming the perspective of others, this is what leads to self-concept.

In my case, accepting God’s inspiration or message that I rebelled against Him made me realize that that was indeed what I have done.  And so I discovered this side of me that remains childish, that side of me that can throw a tantrum, though subtle and non-violent, when I don’t get what I want.  Is my reaction good or bad?  Well I know that God loves me for who I am and is merciful and understanding to all my misgivings.  Since I am a person who believes that everything is grace from God, I see my action as both good and bad.  On the good side, I see that this experience made me realize that I still need to grow in my faith and trust in God’s total, unconditional and eternal love for me.  His will is always the best for me.

Communication  is also a dynamic means of interacting or relating, involving the process of transmitting a message (whether verbal, non-verbal, words, gestures, symbols, signs, etc.) with an intended meaning and receiving the message according to a perceived meaning.

A Powerpoint Presentation of my personal Communication Model