# What is up with texting, phone call, and facebook flakiness?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-up-with-texting-phone-call-and-facebook-flakiness/568694>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [January 23, 2011, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-up-with-texting-phone-call-and-facebook-flakiness/568694 "2011-01-23T21:00:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-up-with-texting-phone-call-and-facebook-flakiness/568694/21 "2011-01-24T23:55:23Z")

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> [@Yarster](#):
>
> Unless I am in a movie or out to dinner with friends, I will always respond to messages from my wife, work colleagues, and good friends right away. Even then, if I get up from the table/movie to use the bathroom, I will almost always check to make sure I’m not missing some emergency. That said, I don’t expect others to be as vigilant.

I’m the exact opposite. I hate the expectation that I am on call 24-7, and that I need to drop everything each time my phone rings or beeps. There is a reason that beepers used to be called “leashes”.

Some times I just want to watch TV, or read a book, or have a conversation with the person I’m with. And sometimes, you leaving me a message that you just felt like chatting doesn’t seem to warrent a response.

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**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-up-with-texting-phone-call-and-facebook-flakiness/568694/22 "2011-01-25T00:10:34Z")

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> [@Diamonds02](#):
>
> Over half of my friends and relatives are flaky when it comes to responding to my text messages, phone calls, or anything I address to them on facebook.
> 
> I can’t really figure it out. I know people do this when they are in the process of terminating friendships, but I have friends who do this off and on for years. Same thing with family members. Meaning they will go a while at being good at quickly responding, and then go through phases when they are bad at responding.

Its also sometimes called, they have a life.

because of my business I recieve 30-40 phone calls a day and probably a dozen each emails and text messages. During working hours, phone calls and texts from customers and employees come first. I am also sometimes working on things not conducive to interruptions like trying to get a mission critical computer at a business up and running. If someone calls me over and over again expecting me to pick up the 3rd or 4th times there better be major blood loss involved. Most of the time when I do not answer its because I am already on the phone so calling over and over just makes me grumpy.

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