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Should You Text Back ASAP?
Buzz, buzz, buzz! You just got a message. But you’re in the middle of watching a movie with your family. Do you check your phone? Research shows that the average teen sends and receives more than 60 messages a day, while a third of teens send more than 100 messages a day. Texts and other social media DMs can make us feel connected and can ward off social isolation. On the other hand, responding to all those messages can take a lot of time. Plus, it can seem rude to always be on your phone. What do you think? Should you always respond to a text immediately?
Yes,
you should always respond to a message as soon as you can. I know how stressful it can be to have a text go unanswered. You start wondering if the other person saw it or if it accidentally got deleted before they had a chance to read it. To avoid stressing out my friends, I always write back quickly. Responding promptly shows people that I’m a good friend. If it’s not possible to write back in detail, I send a quick message explaining that I will get back to the person later. This way, I can avoid accidentally ghosting someone by leaving their message unread. It might take a little extra time to always respond to every text, but I want people to know they can be sure I’m seeing their messages and there’s nothing going on with me they need to worry about.
—Jullea Powell, California
No,
you don’t always have to respond to messages right away. While some messages might be so important that they need immediate acknowledgment, most of the time it’s more important to pay attention to what’s right in front of you. I admit that when I get a message notification, I often feel compelled to open my phone immediately. But responding to one text soon turns into checking all my messages. When I realize how much time I’ve wasted, I feel overwhelmed with stress and unable to focus on whatever I should be doing. To prevent this anxiety, there’s a simple solution: Stop responding to messages immediately. The next time my phone starts buzzing when I’m busy, I will turn on the Do Not Disturb setting and go back to the task at hand.
—Vijay Shivnani, Texas
Do you reply to messages ASAP?
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