If there’s one thing friendships need to stay alive, it’s consistency. It’s about showing up for your friends when they need you and supporting them through all of their endeavors. 

Friendships can’t thrive without reciprocal effort, but in a TikTok video, a content creator who goes by toon admitted that, while he has no problem being there for his friends, he struggles with one thing that might be crucial to keeping friendships going. He admitted that while he would do anything for his friends, he simply has to draw the line at being a responsive texter. 

It seemed, though, that many people could relate and honestly felt a bit seen by his admission that he was horrible at responding to his friends.

A man said he would do ‘anything for his friends except reply to their messages.’

“I just need my friends to know that I would do absolutely anything for them except reply to their messages,” he declared in his video. “You need a ride? I’m there. You need me to pick you up from the airport? Right, I’m coming. You need advice in person? I’ll give you that advice.”

However, he explained that if his friends were to text him, he would need at least five to six business days to respond. While he pointed out that he does see the messages and reads them, he ends up mentally responding rather than physically typing. There’s just something about responding to text messages in a timely manner that he can’t seem to get behind.

While the entire video was meant to be humorous, there was definitely some truth behind his humor. To make up for the fact that he’s clearly a horrible texter, he reassured his friends that he would be there for them in any other way that they needed, just not when it comes to replying to their messages. In the comments section, people were surprisingly in agreement with his take and admitted that while they will bend over backwards for their friends, they are not the type to text back immediately.

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Many people struggle to respond promptly to their friends’ texts.

According to the World Economic Forum, 31% of people experience daily stress to texting. Nearly 1 in 5 struggle to keep up with replies, and almost 1 in 6 admit to ignoring all messages because they receive so many.

Josep Suria | Shutterstock

Listing some reasons why people may take a long time to respond, researcher Mariana Bockarova found that there are many. Some include cognitive and emotional overload, and sometimes texting just ends up feeling like more of a task, leading to social burnout.

“If you’ve ever left a message unanswered for hours, days, or even weeks, you’re far from alone. The act of not replying doesn’t always signal a lack of care — sometimes it means you may be overwhelmed, overthinking, or simply trying to make space,” Bockarova insisted. 

If you’re someone who’s terrible at responding to your friends’ texts, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the end of your relationship. It’s more than likely that they probably already know that about you and have accepted it as being one of your quirks. Chances are, if you’re a slow texter, you make up for it in other meaningful ways. Everyone brings something different to the table when it comes to friendships, and for many people, that immediate digital communication isn’t their strong suit.

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Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.