But, as with so many technological tools, texting has far surpassed its original, utilitarian purpose, to become, for many, not only the primary form of pragmatic communication (I have friends who refuse to speak on the phone, and become angered at the prospect of voice-mail messages), but also an art form.
The prospect of outside voices in the Times' boardroom was enough to stiffen the company's bedraggled stock price on a day of uncertainty in the financial markets.
Leading Republican moderates from New England said they were dismayed at the prospect of losing a voice like Mr. Jeffords's.
Secular figures still distrust Mr. Ghannouchi's intentions and worry about the prospect of a bigger voice by radical groups, like Hizb al-Tahrir.
Asbury and Bloodworth say the prospect of casting traditional voice actors in lead animated roles in the future isn't impossible.
By the time he makes his pitch on "Miss K". — "Wrap your loving arms around me/Talk dirty, turn me on, let's get going" — the prospect of a single voice or focus for this band has begun to feel like someone else's idea of fun.
But, as harmful as these phenomena might be, the prospect of legitimate dissenting voices being labelled fake news or Russian propaganda by mysterious groups of ex-government employees, with the help of a national newspaper, is even scarier.
Salvatore Gravano faced the prospect of hearing his own voice played in court in nearly 150 wiretapped phone conversations.
In response, Mr Yousaf, the Scottish government's international development minister, said: "It is clear that the establishment is utterly rocked at the prospect of Scotland having a voice.
It's understandable that one party would feel threatened by the prospect of losing a key voice on the Supreme Court, possibly for decades.
Fortunately, a white knight has emerged to rescue you from the prospect of listening to mechanical voices forever: AT&T, which has developed a set of new, vastly improved voices called Natural Voices.
