Certain truths…
1) People have busy lives to live
2) Most men and women work
3) Most people nowadays have a smart phone. (After all, we are in the 21st Century!)
4) Technology has made us appear more social through various media, but our patience levels and response time have become implements for our need of instant gratification.

Be considerate to each other with regards to response time. It is not always that easy, comfortable, or convenient to instantly reply back, but a response of some sort should be initiated as soon as possible for good texting etiquette.

People carry their cellular phones with them as if it was a vital body part, and people’s minds tend to sway and go off on tangents, the longer it takes to get a response, so, at the earliest chance that you have, CALL BACK that person. This will put him/her in a better frame of mind. Shorter response times is considered proper texting etiquette when dating, as it can save a lot unnecessary arguments.

For the most part, texting should only be used for alerts and short messaging. Most people will tolerate someone talking on their phone for a short while, but ongoing back n forth volleys of nonstop texting can be extremely annoying, especially when using long sentences since they take time to type (and probably need corrections). If texting to boyfriend or girlfriend texting etiquette dictates shorter messages until you can actually talk.

Remember, text messaging is just that… a message. Short, concise, and to the point! Keep important thoughts for voice, be it via voice phone or person to person where both people have the opportunity to be spontaneous, add emotion to their voice. Dating couples will get along much better when they can be true to each other.

Texting prevents that since it is devoid of any emotion, and can be thought out, manipulated and choreographed for the other’s “benefit”! This can be catastrophic for texting when dating.

I also recommend proofreading your texts before hitting the SEND button on your phone, and especially so if your phone uses voice recognition to type for you. This can and will remedy having to answer the incoming phrase… “Huh, I don’t get it” or “What did you mean by that”?

This also involves shortening of text to its barest essentials so that it appears to be a snippet of code instead of a message.
The main drawback about dating and texting is that, outside of its intended use, (a simple message), it is completely sterile, without any feeling, can be planned out before sending, and the only emotional value it can provide is a Smiley Face or Emoticon! But if you use proper dating texting etiquette you can avoid most of the pitfalls carrying out a relationship through your smart phone.