What does your texting pace say about you?
No, this is not a personality test.
When it comes to texting, most people are either like Alexis from Schitt’s Creek—constantly online and over-sharing or more like Penny from The Big Bang Theory—slightly detached and hard to pin down. No, this is not a personality test. This is a breakdown of what kind of texter you are. Let’s go through this together.
A recent study I came across suggests that people who respond to messages quickly are often perceived as more caring, attentive, and emotionally available. On the flip side, slower replies are frequently read as emotional distance, lack of interest, or even unreliability.
Personally, I am a fast texter. Whether it is work, friends, or family, I tend to check notifications instantly. I might not open the message straight away, but I always give it a look, and if it feels urgent or important, I reply almost immediately. If it is not urgent, it still gets a response soon after.
But I also know people who operate very differently. They see notifications and leave them untouched for hours. And there are a few reasons for this. One, they are genuinely busy. Two, they are disinterested. Three, they are playing it cool. Four, they are simply terrible at replying. None of these is necessarily a crime, but none of them are ideal either. There is a big difference between replying within one minute and replying within a respectful timeframe. Not everyone needs to respond at lightning speed, but disappearing mid-conversation is its own kind of statement (or lack thereof).
It is also important to understand that emotional unavailability is not always about romance. Slow replies do not automatically mean someone does not care. Sometimes priorities are different. Sometimes people are not wired to be constantly plugged in. Some conversations do not require immediate attention, and that is okay.
Lead Image: IMDb
Also read: Is 2025 the year when romcoms finally got emotional intelligence right?