There’s an expectation that you can receive calls anytime, reply to messages quickly, it’s like having people in your pocket, always with you.
And I don’t even use most social media, which others often find weird. I don’t understand how people put up with and manage so many messages when it’s multiple per minute. Snapchat, Instagram, Discord, Messenger, every few seconds responding to something is what I see most others doing.
Oh, funnily, it’s often the people who constantly say “Back in my good ole times we had no smartphones like you, and we lived just fine.” who expect a prompt reply, or get mad when you don’t pick up the phone.
People can and will just message you during the day and suddenly expect you to change your plans.
And why have a smartphone then? Its evolved from being just a communicator. It’s a computer, flashlight, camera, modem, access point, storage device, music player, radio receiver, remote control, portable server if you’re weird enough, but simply, a lot more than just a messaging and calling device.
I can at least trash the calling part and excuse it on technical difficulties (disabling VoLTE, VoWIFI, VoNR and fallback 2G/3G networks).
I just hate the feeling that someone could suddenly message me. I hate having to pull out my phone because a message has arrived and I have to respond. I hate having to look at it every few seconds when I am trying to do something else, because someone messaged me.
I regret showing RCS to my father. I didn’t realize just how much good the monetary cost of SMS was doing. “Free” messaging is paid by the soul.
I tell people I have a 24 hour SLA. I’ll respond to messages within 24 hours, barring circumstances like a trip to somewhere remote or illness. Likely sooner, but that’s a bonus. No one has ever complained.
There’s probably a nicer, more effective, way to say this, but: stop doing this. You don’t have to respond. You don’t even have to look. Put your phone on silent. Leave it in the other room.