On Social Media But Can’t Text Back (What To Know & Do!)

It can be so frustrating waiting for him to reply to your message on social media, especially when you see that he is online or that he has been active recently.

Surely this means that he is ignoring you? While it is easy to jump to this conclusion, it is best to not go to the worst-case scenario as a first option.

What does it mean if he is on social media but can’t text back?

There are many things it might mean if he is on social media but can’t text back. It could be that he really is ignoring you, but he might also be busy, he might have missed your message, or he could be taking his time to think of a reply.

Before jumping to conclusions, take a look at the below reasons why he might be active on social media but not replying to your text. Look for reasons that you think might be plausible, and hopefully, put your mind at ease (or know to move on!)

Why He Isn’t Replying But On Social Media

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It can be so exhausting being available 24/7 through social media, and it is unfair to expect others to reply as soon as you send them a message.

Always take a step back and think of the possible reasons why he might not be replying to you straight away, but he is online.

He Hasn’t Opened His Inbox

When your inbox is overrun by messages and you have so much else going on, it is sometimes best to just ignore it altogether.

He might not be opening his inbox on social media because he has other things to worry about, and this means that he would not look at your message.

Sometimes, mindlessly scrolling through other people’s posts on social media is escape enough from a hectic day, and this will be why he is showing up as online on social media, but why he isn’t reading your texts and responding.

His capacity for responding to texts for the day may have run out, and that is fine, it really isn’t healthy to be available all the time for everyone who wants to send a message!

He Is Deciding On A Response

He might be really into you and worried that if he responds too quickly, he might end up saying something that scares you off.

It could be that he is a thinker and he likes to take his time to respond. You could have sent him a text that requires some thought and concentration to reply to, and at least give him some time to formulate a response.

He Is Playing Hard To Get

Some guys think that playing hard to get makes you want them more, and as frustrating as this is, it does sometimes work.

There is a chance that he is online and seeing your messages, but is making the decision to not respond so that he does not seem too into you or too vulnerable.

Just remember that there is a very fine line between him leaving your messages on read being him playing hard to get, and him just being quite rude. It is all fair and well him playing some moves that he thinks will make you want him more, but it should never make you feel insecure or unsure.

He Is Doing Something Else On Social Media

Social media is not just about responding to messages. He could be watching a video, be in a group chat, playing some social media online game, or reading an article shared by a page. 

He could just be busy doing something else on social media, and even though it shows that he is online and his profile is available, he could be distracted or busy doing something else.

Hopefully, once he is finished with whatever he is busy with, he will see your message and respond to you.

You cannot expect him to reply to you instantly all the time, and you need to consider that there might be other more important things happening online for him – even if it just means that he is scrolling through memes!

He Missed Your Message

There are a million notifications sent through from apps all day long, and if he is busy with work or school, it can be so easy to miss a message.

Unless he is constantly checking his social media inbox, it can be very plausible that he has simply missed your message and not seen the notification.

His phone might also be playing up and causing some notifications to be deleted, or he needs to update his app. Whatever it might be, it is very possible to miss a message, and it is not him deliberately ignoring you.

You Are Coming Across Too Strong

You might not think it, but your messages might be coming across as a bit too strong for him. This could have scared him off a bit, especially your relationship is still in the early stages.

He might feel as though he needs some time to cool off and to think about where he wants the relationship to go. It is always worth taking a step back and making sure that you maybe aren’t overwhelming him.

It is also possible that the two of you are looking for something different in a relationship, and what you think is normal conversation might be a bit too much for him.

Give him some time, he might come round and text you back and then you can move forward, or he might realize that he isn’t interested in taking things further.

He Is Keeping His Options Open

Some guys think that by constantly talking to one girl, they are committing themselves to them. He might feel as though he can’t keep in constant conversation with you, or it means that he cannot keep his options open.

He would not be giving you all of his attention, to begin with, as he might not know if he is serious about you yet or not. He could also be talking to someone else on social media, which is why your messages to him are going unnoticed.

This can be understood somewhat if it is a fairly new thing between the two of you, but if there has been something between you for a while, then it isn’t acceptable behavior.

He Forgot To Log Out

A simple explanation is that he might have just forgotten to log out of his social media, so it is showing that he is online, but he really isn’t.

How often have you just closed your social media app or shut your laptop without logging off? Most of the time this does mean that you show offline, but sometimes it doesn’t, and it is a possibility to consider!

Your Message Was A Dead-End

If the two of you were in the middle of a conversation and he stopped replying, you might want to go back and read your last message.

It could be that the message you sent does not call for a response, and it may have been a bit of a conversation-ender. He might not want to put in effort to find a new topic to bring up, or he may genuinely have thought that your message was the end of the conversation!

He Is Ignoring You

So this is not something you would want to hear, but it could very well be that he is on social media but isn’t texting back because he does not want to talk to you.

This could be because he isn’t interested in a conversation, he isn’t interested in you, or he just does not want to talk.

This is upsetting, especially if you like him, but it is also a good red flag early on that shows you should move on to someone else.

It can be easy to assume that he is simply ignoring you if you have sent him multiple texts over days or even weeks and he still is not replying to you, and if you know that he has been replying to other people.

What To Do If He Is On Social Media And Not Texting Back

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There really is not much that you can do if he is on social media and not texting back. You could ask him why he isn’t, but that message might go unanswered as well.

If he doesn’t want to talk to you, asking him want to talk to you less. And if he does want to talk to you, but is just busy with something else at the moment, your message will make you seem very needy.

Imagine if the roles were reverse and you were just scrolling through instagram and someone sends you a message asking “why aren’t you responding to me?”

Even if you aren’t actively ignoring them, that message will turn you off.

Do not send a hundred messages asking why he has gone silent. You can send one follow-up text if you really want to, but then leave it at that. (I don’t recommend sending a follow-up text though!! But do you.)

He might not message you again, and at least you know he wasn’t interested.

However, if he does like you, he will definitely contact you again and you will be able to sort it all out.

Remember that we can’t be accessible and open to conversation 24/7, and expecting someone to reply straight away is not fair.

I know I personally go on social media sometimes and ignore my texts. I sometimes just don’t have the emotional energy to have a conversation but mindlessly scrolling through twitter is different.

We all need some time to ourselves and some space from others, and sometimes this just means hitting snooze on replying to any social media messages!

Keep yourself busy and become the type of girl that is so happy and fulfilled with her own life that she didn’t even notice he hasn’t replied.

If you enjoyed this article, make sure to read these next:

What To Do When Your Boyfriend Breaks Up With You Over Text

How Long Do You Date Before Becoming Boyfriend/Girlfriend

How To Tell If A Guy Is Interested In You Or Just Being Friendly Over Text

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