The Real Reason It Takes Them Days To Text Back

“Ironically, it’s because I often try to be thoughtful in my responses. Sometimes I will read a message and I won’t have the will or time to give it the thought or depth that it requires, so I’ll put it off to when I can really think about it. Oftentimes it slips my mind because my working memory is kind of trash.” — no0neiv

“Sometimes I just don’t know what to reply to you. Especially if it’s just the word ‘hi’. Responding just feels like it could be a Pandora’s Box that I don’t know if I want to open.” — lifeisgr00d

“Because I don’t want to. Just because technology has gotten to the point where you can reach someone instantly does not mean that person has a responsibility to instantly respond.” — uglyellie

“I’m an introvert and it actually takes a lot of energy for me to respond to people. I much prefer talking in person to someone but for some reason messaging drains me. It’s nothing against the person I haven’t responded to and I usually tell my friends it’s the way I am and they understand. So unless it’s urgent it could take me a couple of days to respond until I have the energy.” — little_miss_noshine

“I don’t have the mental capacity to reply right now. I’m having a stressful day, I’m trying to meet a deadline, I’m upset over something etc. and my brain is too busy and muddled to reply. Sometimes I’m also just drained and don’t have the energy, even if it’s just something simple, like responding to a meme; I’m drained and my brain is mush I can’t muster up the energy. If I don’t reply for a while, it typically means I’m somewhere in my feels.” — t-4y

“It’s usually because I read the message while I’m doing something that makes it impossible to reply in that moment, and then I literally just forget.” — koopapeaches19

“Generally, a message is an opening to a conversation I don’t have energy for right now. Even if it’s a simple question, I’d rather come back to you in a day or so when I have time for you and our conversation than just running through a chat for some reason.” — MrJaffaCake

“I spend all day trying to craft the most perfect response ever and I procrastinate it as if I’m dealing with a school assignment or something.” — honeyballector

“I’m depressed and don’t want to be in contact with people who I don’t talk to on a regular basis, so replying to other people or requests is not as easy.” — blebanec

“I don’t know, it’s like I just… can’t. It feels overwhelming, so instead, I like to consistently go through a cycle of forgetting to respond and then chastising myself for not replying, so I decide I’ll do it later, but then I forget. It’s just on and on and on until I finally do, and it’s always, ‘Hey! Sorry for just responding! (Fill in blank here).’” — OceanDevotion

“It’s a relatively (very) new phenomenon that basically anyone in your life gets access to you at all times. It was only 20 years ago that if you left the house for the day you were actually gone. You’d return messages when you came back hours or even days later. Basically I prefer this sometimes.” — Spizmack