Being a girl, overanalyzing simplistic things such as a text is in our nature. Scrutinizing over whether to use hey or hi, deciding to wait to respond 30 minutes or an hour, and consulting all of your friends on what they think you should say is a fairly common process. For some reason, we’ve engrained it into our heads that our use of smiley faces, commas, and “what are you doing tonight’s” will determine not only our fate with a guy, but also our fate in itself.
Remember that guys don’t think or analyze their wording nearly as much as we overdramatize it, using texting only as a way to make plans and to get answers. Don’t overanalyze their responses because for them a text is a text, not what for us feels like the basis of a relationship.
As easy as it is to immediately turn to your friends and ask them how to respond, DON’T! Friends are there to give advice, but the minute you open that door, you’ve undermined yourself. What could be a completely appropriate response for your friend could sound absolutely crazy coming out of your mouth. Trust your gut instinct.
While hearts and smilies signify playfulness in our heads, they can come across as ditzy and deceiving to guys, especially in multitudes. Your ten winking smiley face comes off as your easy, not flirty. Limit emoticons to when you know you’re really comfortable with the kid.
Communicating in person is hard enough, communicating over the phone allows for even more mixed messages to be conveyed. Simplicity is key when texting a guy. Don’t send one word answers to try to let him know you’re pissed. He’ll take that as an average response. Try to be as forward as possible.
Texting is stressful, dramatic, and a product of our own irrational minds. We make it out to be more than it actually is. If he truly cares about the fact that you responded within the first five minutes, he’s not a catch.