Groups chats are great because they allow you and your friends to keep in touch, stay on the same page, and discuss things as if you were all together. But let’s be honest: they can get a little annoying from time to time—especially if you and your friends have different schedules and/or time zones.
It’s hard, because sometimes you’re having a bad day and want nothing more than to take advantage of the latest software update capability of “Leaving the Chat”—but know you’ll look like a bitch, and will probably regret it not too long after.
If you are part of a group chat (or multiple) you can probably relate to the following triumphs and struggles of texting in a chat.
Unread Texts
Triumph: Looking at your phone and seeing 120 unread text messages makes you feel and look popular.
Struggle: Finding the time to catch up on all that you missed. Even when you try, someone is bound to write a new message, making you lose your place and start all over again.
Screenshots
Triumph: Recent research, conducted by me, with no scientific evidence, has concluded that about 45% of group chats are screenshots. Half the beauty of our advanced technology is being able to screenshot Instagrams/Tweets/texts, then being able to laugh about it with your group chat. Because if you don’t screen shot embarrassing drunk text messages your ex sent you to share them with your group chat, did it ever really happen?
Struggle: Knowing that if you do something embarrassing via text to someone not in your group of friends, you can mostly likely assume that it is going to be screenshotted to be sent to their group chat.
One Message to Multiple People
Triumph: You can all stay on the same page, regardless of where you are geographically. You can stay informed on their drunken escapades and the happenings of one another’s lives without having to have six different 30 minute phone calls every week.
Struggle: The more people that are added to the chat, the more likely you are to deal with mundane details you don’t really care all that much about. Plus, even if there is one message directed at just a few people in the chat, everyone else still gets them.
Guaranteed Response
Triumph: When you really need someone to talk or vent to, someone is always bound to answer—even if it is four A.M.
(Credit: Teen.com)
Struggle: There is always that one person trying to sleep or are too preoccupied to answer. You don’t want to disclude them by starting another chat, but when they finally tell everyone to be quiet so they can go to bed, it’s hard to not feel like you are a three year old who just got scowled. With the new update, this shouldn’t be an issue—because these people now have the option to silence the chat—but then again this person is usually the one who hasn’t gotten around to updating their phone yet.
Constant Entertainment
Triumph: Pure entertainment. What’s better than a funny text conversation with a smart, witty friend? A funny text conversation with seven smart, witty friends.
Struggle: Accidentally texting the chat when it was supposed to be a private one.
Everyone Feels Included
Triumph: No one has an excuse to say they were left out. When making plans, group chats are ideal for organizing and making sure everyone is aware of what the plans are.
Struggle: You can never use the excuse that you didn’t know what was going on as a reason to stay home.
Missing Messages
Triumph: Because anyone who has been part of a group chat can relate to the struggle of scrolling up to catch up on what they missed, only to have it turn out to be a fool’s errand (see aobve), you are also able to use the excuse that it was too many missed messages for you to scroll up.
Struggle: If you decide that scrolling through 135 messages is not worth your time, especially when half of it is irrelevant, you must also be prepared to suffer the consequences. And by that I mean risking the chance that the one time you choose not to read every single text, is the one time you are going to miss a crucial piece of information that will come back to bite you in the ass. It’s not your friend’s fault that you didn’t have the patience to read through what you missed.
Exclusivity
Triumph: Being with someone in-person who is also in the chat, so you can ask them to summarize anything you missed without actually having to read it all yourself.
Struggle: When you reference a chat to a friend that they aren’t in. Oops!
(Credit: Gurl.com)
