Reply within 30–60 minutes to play it a little cool. While it's okay to reply later if you're actually busy, purposefully waiting to text somebody might feel disrespectful if you're available. If you had to make the person wait for more than an hour, offer them an apology and explain what kept you from messaging them.
Time-sensitive messages should be answered as soon as possible, while you have more time for nonurgent ones. But not that long. Gottsman, speaking "from a polite factor" believes you should respond within a day.
“And anything longer than 12 hours begins to look like something far more problematic — an illness, a crisis, or direct avoidance.” Bottom line: If they take more than 12 hours to respond and don't offer an explanation, you have reason to feel wary. What Reasons Might Your Partner Have For Their Texting Behavior?
SMS text message character limit
It is still 160 characters, the length that Hillebrand decided was enough for short messages back in 1984. While a single text cannot have more than 160 characters, modern phones and texting platforms automatically split longer texts into multiple messages.
2-3 Hours:
This is like how long it takes people to respond to a missed call from their parents, or finally start doing the homework they've been putting off for some time. That would mean you're pretty important; the person just wants to have ample time to maintain the entire conversation once they finally do respond.
Reply within 30–60 minutes to play it a little cool.
While it's okay to reply later if you're actually busy, purposefully waiting to text somebody might feel disrespectful if you're available. If you had to make the person wait for more than an hour, offer them an apology and explain what kept you from messaging them.
Sure, it's polite and respectful to respond to messages and answer questions as soon as possible, but taking a few hours — or even days — to do so doesn't always mean someone is actively trying to be rude or disrespectful toward you.
One of the best ways to reconnect via text with an old friend, colleague, or romantic interest is to let them know they've been on your mind. Most people will appreciate hearing that you've been thinking of them, so this is a great way to help brighten someone's day while also helping to re-establish closeness.
Context of the message
“Whether the text is from close friends or not, or if they say something that you don't know how to answer or you don't really know how to continue the conversation, then you'll probably take a longer time to reply,” he said.
If there's anything important, he'll call you. But if a guy wants to stay in touch and on your mind often, he'll do that by sending long texts about his day, his feelings, or just about anything else, all because he wants to stay in touch.
Dry texting is what happens when someone gives you short, non-engaging replies in a texting conversation. It can also be super repetitive and just plain boring, says Claudia Cox, a relationship coach and founder of Text Weapon.
Some people need to reply to every text immediately, while others are more relaxed and don't mind if it takes a few hours to get back to them. There is no right or wrong answer, but it is essential to consider how the other person feels.
If you have given them the time to respond (at least 24 hours) and still hear nothing, sending a follow-up text can help clarify things. When it comes to deciding what to say when someone ignores your text (or if you should say anything at all), the context matters.
Women will usually reply within the hour of receiving a message, but may also stretch out their response time so that they're just as likely to reply within 24 hours. The fact is that 95% of texts will be read within 3 minutes of being sent, with the average response time for a text being a mere 90 seconds.
According to their study messaging etiquette says waiting more than 20 minutes to respond can be seen as rude.
There is no universal rule on whether to wait for her to text or you be the one to text first. It is not rude to text a girl first, especially in that early phase after you just got her number.
But you shouldn't take it personally as there could be many reasons behind your guy not texting you back for extended periods. For instance, he might be busy at work or in the personal sphere, hoping that you would text him first, doesn't want to sound needy, or is simply not good with virtual communication.
A General Rule of Thumb
A text should be answered within a couple of hours when there is not a time restraint. Keep in mind that if someone is working or exercising or basically out in the field, it may take longer for them to respond.
If you're looking for some closure, it might be worth sending him another text message — after you've waited a couple of days for a reply to your previous one. Keep it light and casual, but ask for answers. For example, “Hey, haven't heard from you in a week. Assuming you're not interested anymore.
Excessive texting—especially when it involves demanding to know where someone is, who they are with, and what they are doing—is controlling and abusive. If you're in a relationship with someone who texts excessively or aggressively, you may want to distance yourself from them.
Responses may be delayed, but a complete lack of response leaves the other person feeling unimportant, or that something is wrong. If the communication you are receiving is rude or abusive, then you should ignore it. But you will need to consider some type of action to resolve the situation.
Give them an out.
One reason someone might not reply to an email is that they aren't able to help, or don't feel comfortable following through on your request. Giving your email recipient an out will ease their discomfort and demonstrate humility, making the other person more likely to reply.
While you may know, rationally, that there are plenty of good reasons for someone not to respond to a text or an email—they're busy, they haven't seen the message yet, they're thinking about what they want to say—it doesn't always feel that way in a society where everyone seems to be on their smartphone all the time.