Key Takeaways. If a guy does not text you back immediately, there might be valid reasons like preoccupation with work, wanting some space, or being just not into you. When he does not text you back, do not bombard him with texts. Focus on yourself and go out and enjoy yourself with your friends.
The guy may not be texting you every chance he gets free, but he may text you at least once in the day if he likes you. Just remember he has a life, a job, or maybe school and can't always text as often as you may be able to with your life. Just because he doesn't respond right away doesn't mean he's lost interest.
Give it a few days (or even a week).
It might feel tough waiting for him to text you, but your crush might truly be busy and unable to respond to your messages right away. 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.
When a guy slows down texting you, it could mean a number of things. One, he may be taking some time to figure out his own emotions and get a sense of where this connection is going. Two, he may be too intimidated by the growing intimacy and may dial back on the texting to get some space.
If it has been less than a couple of days then try to not let his lack of contact bother you. There is a good chance he is busy and this is nothing to worry about. Get home from work, put your phone on aeroplane mode and avoid checking your WhatsApp status or social media activity. You have your own life to live.
Well, in short, just three days. While every relationship is different, three days is enough time to consider yourself ghosted. Sure, everyone has emergencies or can come up with a valid excuse for not responding, but letting things linger for three days or longer is enough to categorise it as a ghosted situation.
Wait 4 hours before texting again if they don't respond.
Studies have shown that after 4 hours, you're more likely to get a response if you text again. That gives you enough time to restart the conversation and makes you sound less clingy.
Calmly tell the person that you've noticed they're not responding and you want to understand why. Emphasize that you want to resolve things. While it's not your fault that someone else decides to give you the silent treatment, you do have a responsibility to apologize if you've done something wrong.
When a guy likes you, he's going to keep putting in the effort over text, even after you two get to know each other. You'll notice that he consistently texts you every day, or he always sends a good morning text throughout the week. This is a great sign, because it means he's not trying to lead you on.
A week gives the person enough time to thoughtfully respond.
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. Waiting any longer than a week could be a sign they're not interested, and it might be best to let the conversation die out.
An effective way of breaking a bad habit such as waiting for a text message is to become disinterested. There's one thing you must do to achieve it: be curious. Once you feel the overwhelming desire to look at your phone, stop for a second and observe every sensation and emotion you are feeling at the moment.
"Ghosting is based on one simple thing: communication," Douglas says. "If you have been talking to anyone—friend, potential mate, whatever—and they suddenly stop responding to your messages without any warning or cause as well as ignoring you, you may have been ghosted."
Definition: A psychological abuse tactic utilized by individuals with narcissistic tendencies to halt communication with a romantic partner, friend, family member, or business partner.
"If he's ghosting, it starts with his response rate being dramatically slower. Usually, his responses go from longer to much shorter, to even one word," Edwards says. "Further, since you've spent enough time with him to know his tone and language enough, you might even notice a lack of enthusiasm in his words."
Many guys hate failing and feeling inadequate. They often don't have the speed of words to compete with their partner in a conflict. Men's emotional processing capacity is often much slower than their partner. Whilst being silent is a sign of a man's need to process it is also a way to avoid the feelings of defeat.
Men go silent because they try to control their emotions and sharing their feelings is hard.
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.
If your dude has slowed down his responses to your texts or if he's not returning your calls, there's a good chance that he's being a wuss and slowly making an exit. "The guy may start to communicate less, so no more good morning text messages, shortened responses and fewer details about his life," explains Ritter.
Yes, it's a bit lazy and can feel somewhat cruel if you've already established mutual interest or even commitment, but leaving a message “on read” is the non-confrontational method of “letting someone down easy.” Unfortunately, not responding is commonly done to get across the message of disinterest.