Digital distraction is far too real for most of us who use devices as we navigate each day.
That’s why it is particularly offensive, onerous and annoying to get unsolicited spam texts from political campaigns near and far.
Whoever decided, at whatever party apparatus level, that it was a good thing to spam potential voters or donors with artificially bright and chirpy messages asking us to affirm our value system, donate money and generally support Candidate A or B clearly misunderstood how that messaging would be perceived.
It’s annoying, frustrating and a waste of everyone’s time. It also presumes a certain stupidity or ineptitude on the part of donors and voters that they can’t operate like grown-ups in studying candidates and campaigns, reading, researching and generally making their own decisions without this outside input.
Adding to this aggravation is the fact that while it’s possible to get on Do Not Call lists for many, many types of unsolicited calls, political campaigning and fundraising are exempt from the enabling legislation (Go figure -- or consider the source!).
If you put a universal block on your phone that prevents messages and calls from unknown numbers, you may inadvertently block a call from your accountant’s office or someone who legitimately needs to reach you.
So, what is the solution? You can absolutely use the “report spam and block sender,” button. That feels good. You can try to call and protest. You can text back and say that you’ll never vote for a candidate who spams you with unsolicited texts, or say that you’ll vote for their opponent or the candidate who doesn’t send unsolicited texts.
You could waste even more of your time trying to reach that person’s campaign or if you encounter legit advertising on social media or other platforms, you could register your discontent in that forum. That may be effective if your message is visible, even briefly, visible to the entire social media universe.
No one wants to be a curmudgeon (unless the situation warrants it) and this may be tilting at windmills in today’s hyper-digital and instantaneous world where most people don’t even use their phones for calling anymore. It’s just so annoying to get those texts with their faux-friendliness and urgent tone.
