Texting, a remarkable invention, a boon, or maybe even a curse? Texting lets us communicate without the pressure of a real-time conversation. But here’s the thing, it means that I have to text people back. We all know someone(or maybe you are that someone) who just can’t hit “send” in a timely manner. It’s not that I don’t want to text people back, it’s just that mentally responding to texts doesn’t count. I’m sure we’ll get there one day considering Elon Musk got the FDA approval to put chips in our brains. But that’s for another day. Till then, we’re stuck texting back with our fingers like peasants. For now, let’s dive into decoding the cryptic silence.
1. The Procrastination Pals
Starting off, we’ve got our “Procrastination Pals”, the ones that take ages to respond. They don’t want to ignore you, but instead they’re caught up with procrastinating and worrying that they’re procrastinating, it consumes their mind. It waits, scopes out the best times and strikes right when they receive a text message. It’s nothing personal, sometimes, watching a teenager go back in time to stop a serial killer (the movie is Totally Killer and that’s its name too!) is more important than replying immediately.
2. The Ponderer
Then there are the ones cursed with overthinking. The ones that ponder over each word they write like it’s a PhD thesis, from considering each word to dissecting the implications of an emoji or punctuation mark. “Does this emoji make me seem overly excited?” or “Does the lack of emojis or too few make me seem bored?” By the time they’re done making the first draft of their message, you might’ve already moved on.
3. Serial Ghosters
I’m being serious! Ghosting is not limited to just dating! It happens quite a bit in the realm of texting. You’ll start texting this person, start a conversation, and suddenly, they’re gone! PooF! They vanish into thin air. Again, it’s not that they’re not interested in speaking to you, they probably do. However, some people find it challenging to keep a conversation going. Maybe the fear of running out of things to say, or the reaction they might receive, or just plain old aversion to small talk. Regardless of the reason, their messages might end mid-conversation, leaving you hanging, anxious, and perhaps worried they got abducted by aliens.
4. Chronic Forgetters
Okay, this is my category. Chronic Forgetters. I swear to god, it’s not intentional. Most of the time. It’s just we have a knack for forgetting to reply. It’s like a little trick our brain plays on us. We read the messages, we think about how to respond, respond in our mind, and then, it just slips our minds. Hours turn into days, and the message is left hanging, forgotten in the abyss of messages we’ve forgotten to respond to. Sometimes, all we need is a follow-up text to remind us that we’ve in fact not responded to you guys.Â
In today’s world, responding to texts instantly has become the new norm. Whether it’s for work, catching up with friends, or keeping in touch with family, not replying quickly can sometimes feel like a social blunder. It’s not an excuse to justify total radio silence, but it’s worth considering a few possibilities for the delays.
The truth is, we all have our quirks when it comes to texting. Some are texting gods, while others, well, we’re still a work in progress. So, the next time you find yourself staring at the screen, waiting for a reply, rest assured, it’s probably not a deliberate snub. You just might be dealing with a “Serial Ghoster”.