![]() The sad thing is, most of those blogs and forums - even technical ones that purport to have the answer to this puzzling conundrum and major technological inefficiency (if I do say so myself…) - don’t provide a good or viable alternative. Well, here’s what I’ve dug up out of the rabbit hole: There are some “solutions” or alternative options to the “mark as unread” debacle…but you might not like what you’ll find.Ī quick Google search will reveal multiple forums, from Reddit threads to Apple StackExchange to Quora questions and even blogs that offer very inefficient, inconvenient workarounds like this one (doable, but likely more trouble than it’s worth). Unfortunately, my further digging has revealed that I’m not the first person to desire such a function, and I’m not even alone in people on the internet voicing that desire and frustration. Let me preface this with the fact that I usually assume technology to be a bit smarter than me, so 9 times out of 10, I begin with the assumption of user error as the root cause of my problems. So, what’s the solution (or alternative)…and how much does it suck? This is how texts go unread (literally, unseen like I have no clue what you’ve asked me because I’ve purposefully not clicked on it) for days, sometimes weeks, and sometimes worse. However, that only exacerbates the problem, since it moves the increasing catalog of text messages in the waitlist queue even lower on my to-do list, to the very bottom of my daily priorities. I spend a lot more time in email, other messengers, and on actual phone calls than I do texting, especially for business. I’ve felt this way for years it’s just become increasingly frustrating and a bit more problematic as my contacts, team communications, and texts have piled up.Ĭan I really be the only one who feels the need for a “mark as unread” or “flag for later” button in the text messaging app?ĭon’t get me wrong, texting is not my only or even my primary method of communication. This is not a new phenomenon or frustration I’m just having now with the text messaging app. The “mark as unread” feature failed to appear. I thought I would solve my problem a bit, at least for the important texts, by getting a separate number for emails on a completely different texting app and provider…I did this, but unfortunately, the same problem occurred. For more trivial conversations with friends and family…and maybe the occasional business-related note from a team member (but preferably not email is better for that). You see, I mainly use my text messaging app like most people do, I assume. You’ve read the text and you can reply now or forever forget to respond (sorry Aunt Sharon!). You can’t check the little “mark as unread” box, like you can on emails, and circle back to them later. Sometimes the little preview portion of the message is enough to let me know this is going to be a quick, fun, and easy reply, while others make it clear there will be thinking involved (so best to punt that to later, when I have sufficient time and brainpower to dedicate).īut that’s exactly the problem with texts. I can’t possibly know what I’m about to walk into when I open up an unread text. Now, if you’re wondering why I don’t simply opt for strategy number one all the time to get back to people faster, get those texts off my plate, and (most importantly) address any time-sensitive questions or requests to ensure I don’t miss out on anything or hold someone else up…it’s because I can’t. I know it’s annoying, and I try not to do this with everyone, but from time to time, this is my response strategy…apologies in advance. This is kind of like a text reply “dump” where someone just sends over everything they’ve been bottling up inside for the last few days, weeks, or months, and you’re left there to trudge through it and decide which parts (if any) warrant a response. Maybe pics involved, maybe gifs, maybe links. Some days, I’ll finally muster up the strength, time, and courage to wade through a few of those still unread (literally, unseen) text messages and send over a barrage of responses. I’ll leave it in my queue, allowing the number of unread messages (that my eyes have literally not yet read) to pile up and approach the three-digit zone (100+). Some days, I won’t even read a person’s text. Some days (dependent on the time, my schedule, and who’s on the other end), I’ll text back immediately, answering the question and preparing for another few minutes (or even an hour) of friendly back-and-forth. I’m not the most consistent texter-backer, and I’ll be the first to admit it.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |