Why It's Ok Not to Reply to Your Text Messages Right Away

Posted2 months agoActive2 months ago

mooreds

3 points

5 comments

text.npr.orgOtherstory

calmpositive

Debate

20/100

CommunicationSocial NormsProductivity

Key topics

Communication

Social Norms

Productivity

The article discusses the pressure to respond immediately to text messages, and the discussion revolves around personal experiences and expectations around response times.

Snapshot generated from the HN discussion

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0-1h

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2.5

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01Story posted
Nov 4, 2025 at 11:05 AM EST
2 months ago
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02First comment
Nov 4, 2025 at 11:11 AM EST
6m after posting
Step 02
03Peak activity
4 comments in 0-1h
Hottest window of the conversation
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04Latest activity
Nov 4, 2025 at 4:16 PM EST
2 months ago
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Discussion (5 comments)

Showing 5 comments

Awesomedonut

2 months ago

1 reply

I see lots of people online say they feel pressured to respond right away, but I've found that for my friends it's simply not the case...? There are some that respond very quickly, but most of them respond very slowly. They're really friendly when we see each other in person, but will take days to respond.

JohnFen

2 months ago

The main benefit of texting is that it generally doesn't require immediate response. If it's something urgent, people can say so in their message, or, for a more reliable response, call me. Otherwise, I'll respond as my schedule permits.

evanjrowley

2 months ago

1 reply

People in my life are lucky if I respond in 24 hours

mooredsAuthor

2 months ago

1 reply

I'm such a fan of pinned messages for this reason.

I'd love if I could re-forward a text message to myself in a day or two. Or if there were some other way to remind myself of messages within the text message app.

evanjrowley

2 months ago

I totally agree. Pinned messages are very effective, moreso than taking a screenshot or a mental note, both of which will be forgotten about relatively quickly. A calendar entry might be more effective, but the context switch to a different app makes this unsuitable when low-friction is required.

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ID: 45812515Type: storyLast synced: 11/17/2025, 7:52:07 AM

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