When was the last time you sent a message? If you’re anything like most people with access to a phone and/or an internet connection, the likelihood is that it wasn’t too long ago. Only a generation previously, it was unthinkable that the main way most of us would get in contact with each other would be through the medium of writing. Nonetheless, the world today would probably come to a grinding halt if we suddenly couldn’t talk to each other via different types of text.

With this communication revolution has come plenty of rules to do with the etiquette of texting. Emoji mean different things in different situations, and they go in and out of fashion. The wrong punctuation can be enough to send overthinkers into a panic, and double or triple texting should only be used in certain situations.

Of course, just because these things might be common knowledge does not mean that they have to be followed, and it definitely doesn’t mean that they always are. This can lead to some awkward and even upsetting scenarios, as outlined by @crembrulemily recently. Claiming that text conversations where you are the one contributing the most can be a disheartening experience, her tweet got people reflecting on this common situation. It may not always be a bad thing, and sometimes there’s a good reason for it happening. This doesn’t always make it feel good, though.