Response time to text versus e-mail?

I definitely think texts tend to receive a quicker response than emails, and I expect a quicker response to a text. People usually have their phone on them at all times, so it’s reasonable to think that if they don’t respond within a few hours that they’re ignoring you. However, there are often times perfectly reasonable causes for a delayed response to a text, I just think that people expect a quicker response so they are bound to get more nervous when one doesn’t come promptly. Emails can often go days before being answered, and I don’t really think much of it when I don’t receive a quick response to one. They usually have more thought put into them and take more time to write, so it is reasonable to expect that a response might take a while to come. Plus, these days people don’t check their email nearly as often as they check their phone, for the most part.

I view a text as maybe they see it maybe they don’t.Maybe they were busy, maybe they weren’t. Maybe they wrote back and hit “end” and not “send” and maybe they dropped their celly and it fell down a well.

If I want instant – I call. If I want an instant reply to a text – I state that.

My wife and I have two different carriers. I have AT&T (company issued phone), while my wife has T-Mobile (on my daughters plan). She has it solely for texting.
I have sent her messages that I would be late coming home from work, only to be finally home, then out to eat at a restaurant, to then hear her phone vibrate, and see her get that message.
Zen is right. If I want instant contact, I phone. When that isn’t possible, as with my wife, it’s a crap shoot.

I avoid texts at times for this very reason. It is a horrible feeling when there is this ‘silence’.

did they read it? and are they ignoring me”
why are they ignoring me, am I worthless to them?

In reality though, often texts go astray, or like me when I am focused on something else. I simply don’t look at my phone. Sometimes for hours.

Perhaps phone calls are easier all round loll

I have my cell with me all the time now, but I often have it on silent mode, so even though “I got the text” hours ago, I may not see it until I go to bed some nights, or even the next morning when I press the keypad to see the display for a power check.

On the other hand, maybe your insecurities with some friends / acquaintances are well grounded.

With some of my relationships, texting seems a less invasive way of communicating then a phone call and in the the situation I am currently thinking of, the friend is sick. I guess it really is my own insecurity…...

I would expect a faster response to a text though nowadays many people can pick up emails as well as texts on their mobiles. I am guilty of leaving my phone lying about or not switching it on so I don’t always reply right away to a text. I will always respond and I don’t like to go more than a few hours without checking my texts just in case I miss something important.

I wouldn’t take it persoanlly unless it consistently happens with that person and I happen to know that it is out of character for them not to reply right away.

I have missed replying to texts for hours sometimes simply because 1)I have had my phone turned offin order to preserve battery power 2)I am really busy at work 3) I am very involved in something such as a book, a movie, a conversation etc 4)I turned off the phone or put it on silent because I was in a hospital or other place where it’s forbidden and/or requires silence. sometimes I even forget to turn it back on afterwords

But then, I’m not one of those people attached at the hip to my phone. I always have it with me but I’m not constantly checking it for messages. Maybe I’m just not popular enough!

I don’t always answer my texts. Sometimes people overdo texting and its annoying. Sometimes they catch me at the wrong time. Sometimes I am just not in the mood for people. But people in my life know that about me and are not too pushy or offended.

I have had my ex send me repeated “emergency” texts while I am driving, in a meeting with my boss, or on an airplane, all expecting immediate response. And I repeatedly tell her I’ll answer when I get a chance.

But like a lot of people on here, I don’t always respond to a text. And if a text is more than 8 hours old, and I missed it, my response will only be, “sorry, just saw this” and nothing more.

Texts are ephemeral. You send it wanting immediate response, then any aged response is of no import and of no value.

It’s hard to say. There are few people I text with, and those are people who are pretty important in my life. So it’s hard to imagine them not getting back to me as soon as they get the text. Now there are reasons why they might not get back. I think @Earthgirl gave a pretty good list.

There are times when I don’t really have anything to say in response to a text. Sometimes it seems to me that a response is not for certain required. I sort of feel guilty because I know the person wants something, but I got nothing. And sometimes I just feel like I don’t really want to connect with anyone. I’m pulling into myself. It feels invasive to have to get back to someone else.

I never used to feel that way. When I was younger, I was so unpopular that every phone call I got I would return immediately. But while I am not really any more popular now, I don’t feel the same way about texts. They can wait, as far as I’m concerned. If you really need me, you’ll call.

I don’t text and doubt I ever will. The phone is to talk on——and that’s the one in the house. The cell is for my convenience when out and about. I look at my email at least twice a day.

I may or may not respond to a text. I often have my phone on silent and I am often on the run so I might read a text, take note of the content and move on. I will respond if it requires a response but it might be a phone call or email later. I think our interaction with technology is a huge drain on time and a causer of stress so I try to avoid being pressured to respond to email or texts quickly.