Texting isn’t true conversation, it is shorthand without emotion, inflection, it is impersonal. I am in my mid fifties and probably text more than most people in my age group, I use a BlackBerry for that specific reason – instant text and email. When I want a real conversation, I call. I might get major news via text, but I respond/discuss it on voice or video. I can’t imagine continuing an important conversation via text. And like you, I do not use txtspeak – it annoys the hell out of me. It screams “ill educated and immature”.