RECEIVED an apologetic text from a friend explaining why they didn’t respond sooner? Ignore their lies. These are the real reasons people are slow to reply.
There was nothing left to say
Read through your previous messages again. Had you finished discussing the topic at hand or finalised making your plans? It’s not a cruel snub to not send a wholly unnecessary text. You don’t go to Tesco then text them when you’re eating the pepperoni pizza. Go outside or doomscroll for three hours instead if you’re bored.
Doing anything else was more fun
Staying on top of your text messages can feel like a full-time job. Especially if you’ve got friends as needy as you. They may try to protect your feelings by saying they ran out of battery or they’ve only just seen your reply, but in reality they were having a far better time blinking and thinking about what they should have for tea.
They simply couldn’t be f**ked
As with most things in life, the most straightforward answer is often the correct one. Your friend may have genuinely been preoccupied with work or had poor signal, but in all likelihood they were fully aware that they needed to reply and they simply couldn’t be bothered. Yes, it would have only taken a couple of seconds to send a thumbs-up emoji, but if you’re in a can’t-be-f**ked mood that feels way too physically and mentally exhausting.
They don’t actually like you
Real friends would never leave each other in conversational limbo while texting, which proves your contact never really liked you that much to begin with. If they often take days to get back to you with curt, one-word answers, perhaps it’s time you took the hint that they would rather never hear from you again.
It would only invite more messages
Your friend knows that even if they send a reply, the messaging won’t end there. You’ll inevitably fire back a response within seconds, forcing them to type out yet another reply. On and on it’ll go until you drift apart, lose each other’s numbers during a botched upgrade, or die. Knowing this, they’ve taken the easy way out and stopped responding altogether. Grieve for them, then move on.
