Don’t. Send. A. Text. In. Several. Messages. See. How. Annoying. This. Is.
If someone takes a while to text you back, don’t text again checking they got your text, or repeating yourself, or simply asking an accusatory, “Hello?” It comes off as aggressive.
That being said, if you’re on the receiving end of the text then respond the same day. There is really no excuse not to. And if for some reason you really can’t respond within the same day, when you can respond, explain why it took you so long. Not explaining makes you look rude.
Don’t call to tell someone you’re running late, or what time the movie is, or simply to answer, “Yes.” It’s almost never convenient for someone to answer the phone, so don’t make someone do it for practically nothing.
That being said, if you do need to tell someone something that requires a lot of information, or would require a novel-length text then don’t send said novel-length text. Call.
If you didn’t reply to a text from somebody, but then needed to text that person, first acknowledge the last text before sending out your new text. A simple, “So sorry—I just realized you texted me last week and I never replied. But anyways I was wondering…” shows respect.
“What do you think of my new wife?” is not a conversation for text messages. It’s not even for the phone. That is for in-person conversations.
Whatever reason you were calling, if the person doesn’t pick up, they’d much rather get a text from you saying, “Please call me back ASAP” or “I was just calling to tell you my mom is coming to dinner” than have to unlock their phone screen, type in their voicemail password, listen to the voicemail and delete it.
If the other person never uses emojis, don’t use emojis. It’s like trying to force someone to hold your hand. If the other person uses them all the time, throw him a bone and use one here and there so they know you’re not a robot.
You’ll be so loved if, when texting someone an address, you send it all on its own, with no other characters in that text. When you do this, the receiver can just click on that text and usually their phone will open the address in a map. When you include other characters in the text, sometimes their phone won’t separate out the address.
Don’t message several people at once who did not previously have one another’s phone numbers. You just gave out people’s phone numbers without their consent.
On that note, don’t start a group text. Your friends do not need to hear their phone go off every time somebody else in that group text says something.
If you get looped into a group text, be a hero and don’t say a word. If you can’t be part of the solution at least don’t be a part of the problem.
If someone texts you a joke or a short story or a piece of helpful information, give them a polite, “LOL” or, “That’s awesome” or, “Thanks for letting me know.”
It sounds like you’re yelling. And it’s just assaulting on the eyes.
