{"id":360,"date":"2022-06-21T11:24:04","date_gmt":"2022-06-21T11:24:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/breakthecycle.org\/how-much-texting-too-much-0\/"},"modified":"2024-04-13T21:50:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-13T21:50:00","slug":"how-much-texting-too-much-0","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/how-much-texting-too-much-0\/","title":{"rendered":"How Much Texting is Too Much?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Please note: Entries within this blog may contain references to instances of domestic abuse, dating abuse, sexual assault, abuse or harassment. At all times, Break the Cycle encourages readers to take whatever precautions necessary to protect themselves emotionally and psychologically.\u00a0 If you would like to speak with an advocate, please contact a 24\/7 peer advocate at\u00a0<\/span>866-331-9474<\/a>\u00a0 or text “loveis” to 22522.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

How Much Texting is Too Much?<\/div>\n
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How many texts do you think teens send in a day? Five? 20? 1,000?<\/p>\n

If you guess 1,000, you\u2019re not\u00a0that<\/em>\u00a0far off. According to a study done by the\u00a0Pew Internet and American Life Project\u00a0in 2010, young people between the ages of 12 and 17 send more than 100 texts a day. \u201cIt allows them to stay constantly in touch with people who are important to them,\u201d said Amanda Lenhart, senior research specialist at Pew. \u201cTexting is a much different experience than calling somebody on a land line, where you might get their parents. There\u2019s an element of ownership for teenagers around texting.\u201d And with cell phone plans including more unlimited texting plans than ever, teens can send as many texts as they want.<\/p>\n

Given how important texting is, just like any form of technology, there are lines that shouldn\u2019t be crossed. So how do you tell the difference between texting normally and\u00a0too much texting\u00a0in the context of relationships?<\/p>\n

In a\u00a0healthy relationship,\u00a0all communication is respectful, whether it\u2019s face-to-face, on the phone or online. If both partners talk via text in an honest and open manner, it\u2019s fine to text a lot. This is especially true if it\u2019s the couple\u2019s preferred method of communication. Keeping in touch with a partner throughout the day can be thoughtful and sweet, but constant contact may be overdoing it, which is why it\u2019s equally important that both partners feel they can ask for space and the other will oblige.<\/p>\n

Both partners in a relationship should\u00a0respect boundaries. So both should be okay with the other turning off their phone when they need. They should also be fine with the other\u2019s right to spend time alone or spend time with family and friends without getting angry. Additionally, both should agree to privacy boundaries, which means an agreement to not read the other\u2019s text messages or demand their password codes for their phones.<\/p>\n

However, those in an unhealthy or abusive relationship may not respect those boundaries. It may start small, like asking several times a day where someone is, what they\u2019re doing or who they\u2019re spending time with. But it can quickly go from a few questions to 10, 20, even 100 texts per day, often centered around keeping tabs on their partner.<\/p>\n

Abusive partners can use texting as a way to stay in control of the relationship and may text constantly to make their partner feel as though they can\u2019t be separated from their phone for fear of punishment. If a partner is sending the other negative, insulting or threatening texts, using texting as a way to keep constant tabs on their partner, or looks through a partner\u2019s phone frequently and checks their texts , that\u2019s when it becomes too much texting — and becomes warning signs of dating abuse.<\/p>\n

Digital abuse\u00a0uses technologies like texting, social networking and beyond to bully, stalk, intimidate or harass a partner. It\u2019s never okay for someone to say or do something to lower another person\u2019s self-esteem or manipulate their partner. If a partner sends someone threats via text, they shouldn\u2019t be written off as venting but should be taken seriously.<\/p>\n

If you know someone who feels suffocated by their relationship in part due to texting, they may be suffering from digital abuse.\u00a0We\u2019re here to help — text \u201cloveis\u201d to 22522 to speak with a peer advocate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Please note: Entries within this blog may contain references to instances of domestic abuse, dating … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/360"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=360"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4686,"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/360\/revisions\/4686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.breakthecycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}