Lilian: «It's really great that we've known each other for so long. I know exactly what they mean when they text me or send me video snaps. I just understand them better than people I've only been friends with for two years.»
Elena: «Lilian and I take the same route to school; we always walk together for 20 minutes in the mornings and get to know each other well during that time. Even so, we keep in touch via TikTok and Snapchat.»
Videosnaps make it easier to convey your emotions.
Livia
Livia: «We only use WhatsApp when we need to find something out quickly and send a message. Do we actually still have that group chat? I don't think so, do we? You can just convey your emotions better with video snaps.»
Lilian: «Text messages can be misinterpreted, you know. Do you remember, Livia, we had a right row about it once .»
Livia: «That's right! It was about a birthday present, wasn't it? Looking back, I realised that my messages didn't come across properly. I just lacked the right tone of voice and facial expressions.»
Elena: «That's why I think it makes such a huge difference who I get messages from. When I read your messages, I can hear your exact tone of voice in my head and know exactly how you mean it. You can even send me really short messages and I don't worry about it. With anyone else, I'd be thinking: «Oh, is she angry?»»
Lilian: «I text my parents in a completely different way. To you guys, I'd just write «Hi», then another message, and then three or four more. But because my parents don't like that, I write everything to them in one go and don't use any abbreviations. My dad always writes very formally too: «Dear Lilian», with capital letters, full stops and all that.» (all three laugh)
It's annoying when I want to tell someone something and they're staring at their smartphone the whole time.
Elena
Elena: «When I text my mum, I use more emojis than usual – and I'm just having a bit of a laugh at her expense because she uses so many.»
Livia: «But sometimes communicating on your mobile can be a bit of a hassle. For example, when a friend sends me a really long video clip and I know I won't have time to watch it all day.»
Lilian: «But it used to be much worse! Do you remember the flames on Snapchat? You always had to send loads of Snaps back and forth with your friends so you wouldn't lose them. It was really exhausting. At some point, it stopped being such a big deal – maybe because we've grown up.»
Elena: «Yes, we used to be on our phones a lot more. If we're spending the whole day together anyway and just scroll through our phones for a bit, I don't think it's a big deal. But if I want to tell someone something and they're staring at their smartphone the whole time, it's annoying.»
I think it's great that, when we have lunch with our group of friends, we make a point of putting our mobile phones in a pile.
Livia
Livia: «Or when you're out and about with friends and half of them are on their phones. That's why I think it's a good idea that in our group of friends, we always make a pile of phones at lunchtime at school and deliberately put our smartphones away – even though we're actually allowed to use them during the lunch break.»
