Women are notorious for not texting back. We do this as a way to tip off the guys we're dating that they did something wrong.
We are made fun of for doing it, but if you take a second to think about it, you'll find our strategy completely makes sense. Besides, no one likes a texting war. They make us feel childish and immature.
Let's set those old habits aside and adapt to a more mature way of dealing with a situation. Here are three reasons women might take some time to respond to your text:
1. I don't know how I feel.
You could constantly be questioning, “Am I being too harsh?” “Is this feeling justifiable?” or “Do I need to be more understanding?” All of these questions can be quite difficult to answer because you know that all of your friends are going to be on your side, even if you are overreacting a tad bit.
On top of this, there is the time factor. How a person feels four hours after an incident can be drastically different from 12 hours afterward.
Even if you figured out exactly how you felt about it at 9 am this morning, it won't reflect how you'd feel about it in the afternoon. So, you'd have to go through analyzing everything again.
2. I don't want to say the wrong thing.
Texts are forever. You can screenshot it and post it on Twitter and Facebook in under 10 seconds. That person can also look back at what you said a month, six months and a year from now.
Overreacting can result in harsh words being said. You don't want those words to exist on someone's screen forever, reminding him or her how cruel you can be.
However, speaking in person can be really difficult as well. When you look at that person and feel love, hate, jealousy and whatever else, all at the same time, it can be really overwhelming to sort out what is going on in your mind. Even if you planned what to say, your thoughts can disappear, and then you're left with the muddled mess of feelings and words in your head.
3. You need time to realize what you said was wrong.
Just as stated above, sometimes the right words don't come out, sometimes you say things out of fleeting emotion that you don't actually mean and sometimes you say something out of an old habit without understanding the consequences. It happens.
However, you need time to realize you made a mistake, understand why you did it and then decide the appropriate way to fix it. If the other person texted you right away, you wouldn't have time to go through all of these thoughts, and a fight would have most likely ensued because neither of you were ready to speak yet.
However, I do want to make the point that you should respond to someone at some point. Of course, it is easier to ignore the problems or wait for the other person to approach you, but that could take quite some time. Instead, focus on your own thoughts and feelings, and figure out how you want to react.
While it is super easy and convenient to just ask our friends what to do and go with that, it can end in disaster. Once you've said something, you could realize that wasn't exactly how you felt, and you've made the situation more complicated.
As stated above, texting is a delicate form of communication and must be done when you are calm and understand where your feelings are coming from. In the meantime, leave your phone at home and go for a jog. You'll be surprised at how quickly you can sort out your emotions when you've isolated yourself from distractions.
