Texting Times

We’ve gone from writing love letters and poetry to the modern-day text messages as a means of communication. Charlene Flanagan examines how these electronic love notes reveal more about your relationship than you think

- Charlene Flanagan

“He barely calls me anymore,” she said to her girlfriends over drinks. “He just texts me to check in, and then goes about his day.” Just as she was about to say something more, she received a text saying, ‘Have fun and be safe’. Her eyes lit up and a big smile spread across her face.

The way you text your partner reveals a whole lot about your relationship. Apart from being one of the primary ways couples communicate, texting also contains important clues about how stable a connection truly is. “We are constantly sizing up one another’s behaviours,” says Dr Mehak Nagpal, a Delhi-based sexologist. “Texting is one way through which we evaluate things early on in a relationship. The more one feels that they have a symmetrical rhythm of texting with their partner, the more they feel in sync.”

However, deciphering text lingo and signals isn’t always child’s play. Fortunately, examining your chat history will help you gauge how tight you and your beau really are. Here are some tell-tale signs:

UNDERSTAND CUES: TEXTING LINGO

It’s no surprise that couples adopt certain mannerisms from one another over time. This principle applies to communication as well, particularly texting. Couples tend to use exclusive words, phrases, or emojis to convey certain feelings. While it’s often best to have a face-to-face, texting is code for what to expect in certain situations.