We all do it. We’ve all been there. We all leave people unread or have been left unread.
For the most part, being left unread is an online experience indicating that you’re being ignored.
Why does the phenomenon of “being left unread” occur (discounting technical issues)? Well, a couple reasons probably:
- Busy or overwhelmed: The person might be preoccupied with other responsibilities, work, or personal issues, making it challenging for them to respond to messages promptly.
- Lack of interest: If someone consistently leaves messages unread, it could indicate a lack of interest or investment in the conversation or relationship.
- Miscommunication or misunderstanding: Sometimes, messages can be misinterpreted or misunderstood, leading to confusion or uncertainty.
- Avoidance or conflict avoidance: Leaving someone unread can be a way for individuals to avoid confrontation, uncomfortable conversations, or conflicts.
- Overwhelmed inbox: In some cases, individuals may receive a high volume of messages, making it challenging to keep up with all of them.
- Power dynamics: Leaving someone unread can sometimes be an intentional tactic to assert power or control in a relationship
The irony is that you’ve both been on the giver and the receiver end of “being left unread”. So while we can justify to ourselves in the moment we are leaving someone else unread in the moment, sometimes we forget why someone is leaving us unread. As simple as it sounds, it’s for the same reasons. Yet in the moment it is hard to rationalize when we are the ones being left unread.
Why is it hard when we are the ones left unread? Well, as stated earlier, being left unread is the online experience of being ignored in one way or another. In real life, you cannot explicitly ignore someone. When you are having a face to face conversation, it is socially awkward not to respond or walk away in the middle of a conversation. However, online we have an opportunity to avoid in-person social norms and trade them for new online social norms.
We don’t want to be spammed with messages but also don’t want to be ghosted/left unread. There is a healthy medium that most conversations exist in. When the ladder occurs, this often turns in miscommunication and even conflict. To avoid this, when you leave someone unread when you’re just simply busy or overwhelmed, a simple check-in afterwards really makes all the difference.
At swsh, we want to help deepen the connections that matter to you by making check ins easy and fun.
