Texting is great, but the fact that it’s a relatively brief medium — at least in comparison to an email — and generally lacking in emotion in comparison to speaking in person can get a little complicated. Research has already proven that ending a text with a period comes across as angry compared to when no punctuation is used, and that’s just one rule of texting etiquette. It’s a lot of pressure for a simple text to take on! Luckily we can lighten, buy just not overthinking these common texts so much.
- The “K” text. From your best friend, this is totally normal, but from anyone else, it can make you wonder if they’re being brief because they don’t like the direction things are going. Just assume they do it to everyone.
- The text vs. a phone call. Some of us hold out on the idea that a man calling is more romantic than texting, but don’t put too much pressure on that. If he’s asking you out, he’s asking you out.
- The “hey, sorry — just saw this” text. The analysis on this one is done: it’s a lie. They saw it, but either forgot to respond or didn’t feel like it. Moving along.
- The random drunk text from your ex. Drunk people do drunk things, like texting people they no longer have feelings for because they need some attention in their drunken state.
- The random “hey, what’s up?” text. This is always sent from a man, and often isn’t going anywhere besides, you know, seeing what’s up. No one knows why exactly this is the chosen phrase for reaching out; it’s just the way of male text habits.
- The complimentary text. Whether he says you looked “cute” or “beautiful” last probably doesn’t mean as much as you think it does. He’s trying to be nice either way because he likes you, just go with it.
- The lack of text. We tend to assume that when we’re thinking about people, they must be thinking about us as well, but not necessarily. If you need to talk to someone, text them. If you don’t get responses from people, stop texting them.
- Harsh words from the bestie. She always has your back and tough love sometimes plays into the equation, but don’t get stressed out by the weight of any words until you can chat in person.
- The “what are your plans for the weekend?” text. Response options come down to honesty, the attempt to remain available, or the wanting to seem busy when you’re not. This can get pretty complicated depending on who’s asking. Breathe through it.
- The “lol” text. Or any other text with an acronym. Some people love them, some people hate them, but it doesn’t usually mean anything serious about someone’s intelligence or ability to carry on a real conversation.
- The text lacking in excitement. You just laid out the best plan idea of life and all you got back in return was “sure”. Not everyone is as carefree with their exclamation points. Who knows? In their head, it might have sounded like “suuuuUUUUre!!!”
- The outgoing text. Perhaps the most unnecessary overanalyzing that goes down is crafting an outgoing message. In general, it’s better to just keep a convo flowing than to break for 30 minutes to make the big emoji decision.
