Hi, we haven't talked in a really long time. This pandemic really sucks, but that doesn't mean we can't talk to each other! Just text me whenever you feel like it. Oh wait what? You don't know how to text properly? Well, here are some tips.
Hey guys. I haven't posted one of these types of chapters in a while, but here we go. Some of you don't know how to text. That's fine! But you need to learn how to better your texting for many different reasons.
The main one is, you don't want people to interpret your texts the wrong way. You will get what I mean later on in the chapter. Texts can be interpreted in many different ways. If you don't know how to text properly, people are going to get confused and possibly frustrated. You don't want that. You want no trouble.
Here are the Universal Rules of Texting:
Rule #1: Do not use the thumbs up emoji (👍🏻).
Let me make this clear for those who don't know. In MOST situations, you do not want to use the thumbs up emoji. It is not well perceived at all. A lot of people find it rude, lazy and annoying. The person you're texting put in the effort to answer you with letters, words. Out of all of the emojis you could have used, the thumbs up emoji was not the right one. You can use the emoji when talking to someone you don't want to talk to. Someone who you find uninteresting. Because that's the message the emoji gives to people. Like you aren't interested in the conversation and the most you could come up with was a thumbs up because you weren't captivated enough to write anything else. All in all, you can use emojis. You really don't want to use that one. I know it sounds dumb, its just an emoji, but unfortunately that's how the emoji is perceived. If you do use this emoji, I'm just trying to inform you that people see it in a bad light, but that doesn't mean you're a rude person:P
Rule #2: Know how to use emojis, and when.
With friends, best friends and family members, you can spam as many emojis as you want. Surely you might be a little bit annoying to them, but it doesn't really matter, because they know you and you know them.
With colleagues, acquaintances and people whom you've just met, don't spam emojis. Some people use a lot of emojis, but not a lot do. Most refrain themselves from abusing emojis. Therefore, do not abuse emojis with people who you don't know a lot. If you do, they will most likely think you are insane in some way shape or form. You see, emojis are either reactions or they have some sort of meaning. If you send someone more than three emojis, you're throwing way too much stuff towards them. They'll get scared and confused and push you away
My advice is, read the room. What that means is, if they use a lot of emojis, use emojis. If you send them one emoji and they don't ever respond with emojis, they're probably not big fans of them. Try and understand who you're texting and if they like emojis or not. If they don't, you're better off not sending too much.
With love interests, be careful. By texting them, you're giving them an impression of yourself. Everyone has a real personality and a texting personality. Sometimes, your texting personality can also be a deal breaker. Sounds weird but its true. Be careful with emojis, and as said earlier, read the room.
Also, the typed out smiley faces are always better than emojis:) They just seem a little bit more genuine for some reason. But they say a lot less, that's why emojis are a thing. But;) also;) please;) don't;) spam;) the;) winky;) face;) It's kinda weird if abused.
One last thing, certainly don't abuse hashtags. Hashtags are for Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr. Unless you use it right and it's really funny or you're referring to known hashtags like #MeToo or something like that, don't use hashtags. No one uses them and they would seem out of place in most conversations.
Rule #3: Don't answer back hours later.
When you're having an online conversation with someone, try to answer at a decent rate. What I mean by that is, don't answer every 2-5+ hours. Your conversations will lead you nowhere and the person you're texting will lose all interest in talking to you. Now obviously, if you're a very busy person, it's fine. But at least let them know that you are busy. If you don't, they'll assume you're just not interested in speaking to them. There's nothing wrong with being busy, but as a rule I would say try to answer at least every 30 minutes. If you're working or something, just tell them or don't start a conversation.
This is also a rule because if you want to establish friendships with people online or you want to get in touch with someone you appreciate, you'll be better off answering at least every 30 minutes to get a healthy conversation. Last but not least, it's not a problem if you answer fast. You don't have to answer a minute after you've seen the notification. People won't think you're weird or creepy if you answer fast. You're better off answering too fast than answering way too slow.
Rule #4: Know when to leave someone on read.
The rule sounds weird. Why would I ever leave someone on read? You never leave someone on read. That's a horrible thing to do. But! there is an exception. The rule should be called: If the conversation is over, you don't have to send a text. Let the goddamn conversation end. Some people always feel the need to fill the void. You don't have to. READ THE ROOM. Is the conversation over? Yes? You don't have to send another text. You can, if you want to, continue the conversation by changing the subject. But don't continue the conversation with words like "Yep", "Cool", "Okay." What I'm saying is, stop trying to be the last one to text. You don't always have to send the last text. Let it end and it will continue some other day.
Rule #5: Don't just send memes.
I know some of you are meme lords. I know some of you are awkward and scared and introverted. Memes are fun, good and awesome. But every once in a while, it wouldn't hurt to just have a normal conversation. It doesn't need to be a deep soul searching conversation. It can be, those are fun. But sometimes just asking your friend how they're doing, how their week was and how their day went isn't a bad thing. It's something you should do more often. A lot of people spend their days alone, especially during this harsh pandemic. Talk to your friends, ask them about their day. Obviously you don't have to. But don't you think it would be nice to let others know that you care about them and you're not just looking for reactions to your picture?
What I've discovered while writing this chapter is that texting isn't just about showing other people that you're not a weirdo. It's about having healthy relationships and conversations with your fellow friends. Texting isn't just about memes, it isn't just about simple reactions. It's about communicating with another being. You need to remember sometimes that these other beings also have feelings. If you want these people to like you and you want to keep a good relationship with them, you need to understand how to text and what your texts mean.
Rule #6: Understand when to use periods.
This one is picky. This one is also kind of complicated, so here we go. In the texting world, periods are very not well perceived. Kind of ironic because a period is what marks the end of a sentence. It is usually essential. Anyways. In texting, periods sound rude. Not always, but most of the time. Periods usually make you seem angry and frustrated. We can all agree that "K." is ruder than "K". "Fine." seems like you're more frustrated than just "Fine". But, "Alright." doesn't seem as harsh as "Alright". A little bit, but not as much as the previous examples. You get what I mean. In most cases anyway, don't use periods. They're just not well perceived.
I used to be a grammar freak and I would always use periods even in texts. I wanted to make sure everything I wrote was grammatically correct. At the end of the day, it made me a better writer, but I'm sure some people thought I was mad at them when I always used periods. I stopped, unfortunately, because I realized most people agree that they make you sound rude. All in all, not that complicated after all.
Rule #7: Don't be sending dry ass texts.
This one isn't all black and white, but its rather simple. Try to avoid expressions such as "I see," "lol," "lmao," "haha," "idk," "yee," and "cool." Including variations of these. Now. You can use these. Obviously with friends, responding to memes, with people you know well, if the conversation is dying... But when you're having an active conversation with someone, you don't want to send them these dry ass texts. If they're followed up with something, its fine. Ex.: "Lmao," "What happened to his taco it just flew away hahaha." This is fine. As long as you engage in the conversation. But if they're telling you about something intense and funny and engaging, don't be dry and disengage the whole thing. Unless you're totally uninterested in talking to them or you're busy. But even if you're busy, that's kind of rude. Have some manners here please. Texting is an art form in some ways. It's a form of power. If you don't use it well, it comes with the consequences.
A different way to phrase it is also respond proportionally. If someone sends you a long ass text and it means a lot to them and they put a lot of effort into it, you don't want to just answer something dry because that's just a mean thing to do. Answer back with something reasonable and show them that you care to some extent.
Rule #8: Don't ghost people.
This isn't the same thing as leaving people on read. This is avoiding messages. Just answer the damn messages. If you're uninterested, leave them on read at least and they'll stop texting you. If they harass you then go ahead and just block them. Don't be rude and ghost people. It's even worse when you're online and you don't answer. They can see you're online AND you're still ghosting them? That's just a shady way of leaving them on read. That's kinda fucked up not going to lie to you.
Rule #9: Avoid sarcasm with people you don't know.
This is just a ground rule. Some people don't understand sarcasm, some people aren't good at sarcasm. If you're not good at it and you don't know the person very well, don't use it. It will just make everything so much more confusing for both parties and it'll end up making things awkward for the both of you. In general sarcasm isn't a bad thing. It's a bad thing when it causes confusion. So be careful with it please especially around people who don't know you.
Rule #10: Don't abuse all caps.
Another ground rule. Unless you're arguing about something or in a very heated debate, why would you randomly use all caps? Don't. It sounds like you're screaming. Please stop I feel abused and yelled at. PEOPLE DON'T LIKE BEING TALKED TO IN ALL CAPS.
Rule #11: Don't text while driving.
C'mon dummy. Gimme your phone. Look at the roads please. This is not safe. You are putting yourself and other innocent lives in danger. Do not text while driving please. Thanks.
Rule #12: Manage how many texts you're sending.
Don't send too many things at a time. Don't ask four questions at a time. Give people space. If you spam them with stuff they'll feel overwhelmed. It's basically the same rule as emojis. Don't send too many texts to someone especially when you don't text them often.
For love interests, people usually say: don't double or triple text. It depends, really. Again, try to read the room. If she sends you two-three text replies, you can do the same as she does, if you want to. If she sends one text replies, it doesn't mean she's not interested, just don't try to send too many texts. Also, don't send texts that are too length-y.
Rule #13: Don't answer partially to a text.
This is some very simple stuff that some people can't seem to understand. If someone asks you two questions. Answer their two questions. "How was your day and did you see Alex?" you can't just answer "My day went well." No, they asked you two things. Now they have to be redundant and ask you the second question again. Why didn't you just answer the two questions in the first place? You're being lazy.
Also, try to comprehend what people are asking. "Do you remember what her dog's name is?" Don't reply with: "Yes?" They're clearly asking you what her dog's name is. Why didn't you answer? They're clearly not only asking if you remember what the name is. They're asking you this so you can tell them what the name is. It's just a nicer way of saying: "What's her dog's name?" It sounds less abrupt and is much more fitting in a conversation. So, answer the damn question will ya?
Tips and tricks: If you want to keep a healthy relationship with someone, it's always nice if you text first every once in a while. It does no harm to you or your friend. It benefits you both.
Well! That's about it for the Universal Rules of Texting. If there are any other rules you can think of then put them in the comment section. I'd like to know your thoughts on my rules! Also, you don't have to follow these rules religiously. They're mostly just suggestions on how to text better and not seem rude, weird or uninterested to the people you're texting. Also, I'm not targeting anyone. These rules are honestly just commonly agreed upon by most people who text a lot.
Welp, I had a lot of fun writing this out. I haven't written such a long chapter in a while. I'm looking to write a bit more during the summer because I kind of miss it haha.
That is all, I hope you guys are doing well during these harsh pandemic times. If anyone is still sticking around this app anymore that is.
Peace out peasants!