Are you the kind of texter who replies instantly, or do you take your time, leave people on read, and reply later? It is said that texting has made communication faster, but that isn’t always the case. At least there’s a meme for every texting situation you have ever been in!

Communication is technically easier nowadays because we are one second away from our loved ones. But written conversations also have their own challenges, and it’s not always that easy. We have to guess what someone meant based on the way they wrote a message, considering whether they included emojis, which ones they chose, and how many question marks or exclamation points they typed. When texting, it’s difficult to figure out the tone of voice of the other person. So everything has to be interpreted within a digital context, which operates on rules that are different from in-person contexts. Understanding these rules and using them appropriately can make you a good or bad texter, and that can certainly influence your relationships.

I’m that friend who either replies instantly or appears three days later. Unless you need me. In that case, I’m there. But there are some text messages that once I read them, I think, «Well, I’ll take my time to reply to this because I want to write a thoughtful paragraph instead of just saying what comes to my mind right now.» And then, when I finally reply, all I manage to say is «lol». Other times, I completely forget about the message, so by the time I remember it, replying requires an apology or a formal reopening of the conversation. Send me a meme, though, and I’ll look at it immediately.

Group chats are a case study. You put your phone down for an hour and return to 109 unread messages, half of which are memes and reaction pictures. One friend is trying to organize actual plans while another is responding to something from yesterday, and someone keeps teasing both of them. By the time you catch up, the group has already come up with a new inside joke.