6 Etiquette Rules for Texting Your Significant Other

Today, people text each other to stay in touch, including couples in relationships. It's a convenient, fun way to pass the day and connect with each other. However, it can lead to disaster if the two of you don't observe the primary rules of texting etiquette.


Arguments Over Text End in Disaster

Arguing over text messages is a recipe for a fight. Reading nuance and tone through text is impossible. If a disagreement pops off during an exchange, step back. Table the talk until you're face-to-face. It's difficult to pull yourself back, particularly if you feel passionate about something, but it's vital to reduce any opportunities for misunderstanding.
Although you can't control what your partner does, you can and should take it upon yourself to avoid hot topics and incendiary subjects over text messages. Keep the vibe light. You won't solve anything with emojis, so rather than assuming everything the other person says is argumentative and sarcastic, just wait. The issue won't disappear before you see each other again or, if it does, it just means that it wasn't that important in the first place.

Don't Read Too Much Into It

Remember that you cannot hear your lover's tone in a text. Sarcasm doesn't come through text, nor does a joking, teasing tone. Couples all over the world get into fights because they misread the meaning and tone behind a digital message. When your partner says something that irks you, take a step back and reassess the situation. Are you reading too much into the message? Are you all up in your emotions and feeling sensitive? At the very least, ask your partner for clarification before jumping the gun to get angry.

Nurture Stable Connections

Not only do you and your partner need a stable connection between the two of you, but you also need to connect on a reliable network. It's painful to imagine being in the middle of a disagreement or discussion and then dropping your connection at the most inopportune time. Things could escalate just because one of you doesn't have service or because a message didn't make it through to the other person.
The couple who shares a phone plan together stays together. That isn't the actual quote, but the network you choose is essential. Many couples decide to join a shared plan due to the convenience. Look into affordable family plans from T-Mobile, for example. You need something similar to its LTE network so that you can reliably stay in touch even when you're not connected to Wi-Fi.

Never Lie About Your Communication Preferences

Not everyone enjoys texting. Not everyone can comprehend the meaning behind every message. As half of a committed relationship, you have an obligation to share your communication quirks with your partner. It's no problem that you don't enjoy texting that much or that you prefer phone calls, as long as you're upfront with your partner. Let your sweetheart know that you have problems recognizing sarcasm, that you sometimes use emojis to express yourself, or that you don't want to have essential discussions through a texting medium.

Be Respectful of Time

Your partner can't always answer you right away — and double- or triple-texting won't change that. Never inundate your partner with messages just because you want an answer. Even with important topics, you can't force someone to answer. Moreover, it's vital that you're respectful of your partner's time and vice versa. Don't send text after text during working hours or after a certain point at night. It's rude, and it's more likely to leave both of you feeling angry.

Keep It Short

The more you text, the less likely your partner is to read it. That is, sending someone an enormous text wall is bad form. That's too much information to take in at once, plus long paragraphs are usually indicative that something's wrong. Your lover will look at your block of text with dread. Break it up into bullet points if you need to or separate your long texts into smaller ones that are a bit less aggressive.

Couples communicate through text, so you have to adapt. Have you ever gotten into a disagreement with your partner because of a text?

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Image via Flickr by Alexandra Zakharova