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.
Say, for example, the three-day rule. Popularized by the romcom, the three-day dating rule insists that a person wait three full days before contacting a potential suitor. A first-day text or call is too eager, a second-day contact seems planned, but three days is, somehow, the perfect amount of time.
Conclusion. Most of the time, a man's contact with you stopping and starting again doesn't really mean anything particularly bad. Sure, it could be that he's cheating on his partner, but chances are that life's just catching up to him or that he simply needs time and space to process things.
Waiting 2–3 days or up to a week before reaching out gives him a chance to text you first once he realizes what he's missing. If you've waited more than a week and still haven't heard back from him, it might be time to move on. It's really hard when a guy flakes out on you, but there are other people out there for you!
See if he responds 3 days after the date if he's old-fashioned. Even though not a lot of people do it anymore, some guys follow a “3-day rule” where they wait a few days before they reach out. Guys think waiting makes them sound less desperate, so they may feel more comfortable texting you at that point.
A week gives the person enough time to thoughtfully respond.
They could realize that they miss talking with you and send a message. Even though it's a little old-fashioned, some people will wait 3 days after a date to text you back to make you miss them more.
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.
He's not sure what he wants: Some guys stop communicating if they're unsure of what they want from the relationship. He might be feeling overwhelmed or conflicted and needs some space to figure things out. While seeking clarity is a good thing, ignoring or even ghosting you is not.
How long should space in a relationship last? Ultimately, this depends on what you and your partner decide is best for your relationship. “Space can be from a couple of hours to a couple of days or weeks,” says Ruiz, though he generally doesn't recommend his clients take longer than 3 to 4 weeks.
He might only think about himself.
He probably won't be wondering what you're feeling—instead, he'll only be thinking about how it's your loss or how to move on to the next girlfriend. Unfortunately, going “no contact” doesn't inspire a change of heart in every guy.
But that is just an initial phase. After things start to settle down, the male mind, during the no-contact phase, starts to look for your presence in his life. He slowly starts to miss you and your presence in his life. As time passes, his longing for you grows, and he feels deep pain and anguish inside himself!
Can he? Yes, very much so. He could be scared of texting you too much and coming across as desperate. So he may not be texting you because he does not want to come across that way.
Reaching out less rather than cutting him off makes a guy miss you. You don't have to completely stop texting to get his attention — just slow down how often you reach out. Shoot him a text once or twice a week instead of every day so he has a little more space.
You feel like he has started to slack off recently when it comes to your relationship. He is rarely making any plans to hang out or take you out to nice dates. He puts in no effort, just the bare minimum. Maybe he only replies when you text or call him and never initiates a conversation himself.
The person using the silent treatment may abruptly leave the house and stay out, or completely ignore the other partner the rest of the night, knowing this would be upsetting. In some cases, the use of the silent treatment may last for days or weeks.
He might be unhappy or irritated about something, or he could be attempting to avoid you. It also holds to reason that he might have lost interest in the relationship and is gradually trying to pull away. The first step to take when someone ignores you isn't to rush to conclusions.
Cold texting is reaching out via SMS to a contact without their prior consent or permission. It's similar to cold calling and cold emailing. Some examples that would lead to cold texting include: Purchasing a contact list from a third party. Finding customers' phone information online.
Maybe he thinks it will not work out
Sometimes a guy will stop talking to you or slow down communication because he feels that it might not work out between you two. Instead of directly talking to you, he may try to soften the blow by reducing contact or making none at all.
Dry texting can mean that he's not super into you, but it could also mean you just have to change up your texting strategy a bit to get him interested enough to text back.
When Should You Stop Texting A Girl? If she asks you to stop texting her, definitely stop. Don't text her again if she explicitly asks you to stop. Additionally, if you reach out several times and she never replies, it's safe to say that you shouldn't keep texting her, particularly if this is a girl you just met.
Post Senning's general rule is to not wait longer than one to three hours to reply, he tells TI. "A text conversation can go stale in a few hours," he says. "Don't just make them wait." If you're crushing on someone, don't play mind games, he says.