What some people are describing, I wouldn’t call “missing” texts. When I am at work, the phone is silenced and I put it in Do Not Disturb mode, which disables all notifications and alerts except those from my “favorites”. I receive messages and calls during that time, but I am at work, so I will not respond right away. The majority of my friends and family understand that, and appreciate that they would not want their health care providers disrupted by notifications during their visit.
I use Do Not Disturb when I am at dinner or the movies or any other time I want to focus. I also have notifications turned off for all my apps, except for the important ones – I have several social media accounts and hundreds of friends and followers across those accounts – I don’t want a ding or pop-up every time someone does something on those.
Mobile devices are a tool, and we can choose how their use best suits their purpose in our own lives. The first thing I do when I get new hardware or software is to explore the Settings and customize them the way I want – which is minimal distractions and noises of any sort, in my case.
When I have free time, I look at my device(s) and choose which activities I want to engage in. The badges will show me if there is a new message for me, so I will look at them and deal with them as I deem appropriate. Similarly, I do not expect instantaneous replies to my messages, unless they are important, because in respect that my friends and colleagues are as busy – if not more so, than I am. I do not like phone calls, and it think they should only be used for emergencies or urgent matters. If you just want to know if I want to go to the movies next weekend, send me a text or email, and I’ll respond when I can.
If anyone I knew gave me flack about not replying to their messages quickly enough, they would be told the above; and if they don’t respect that, then they will not be on my social radar for long. In business scenario, if they were demanding of time and attention, I find other ways around having to deal with that person, such as finding another contact in that company.