The modern age is known for technology having created an immeasurable access to people. Anyone can call, text, video chat or email almost everyone else and can reasonably expect the person being contacted will see that message in mere moments. Brands and advertisers can see search histories, locations, buying habits and many other data points on anyone with a smartphone and any account with major websites.

This level of access, from friends, family and business contacts, as well as the personal information subject to scrutiny by corporations and businesses, can lead to a high level of stress and anxiety. 

Read receipts, if left on, can be points of contention between friends. Being “left on read” is a common gripe from people trying to get someone else’s attention through text, but nobody ever rationalizes why they were left on read without an answer.

Here is something important to remember: Nobody is owed a response when it comes to social relationships. If someone decides to ask an uncomfortable question or make a statement that could change the nature of the relationship altogether, it is totally acceptable for the receiver of that message to wait, ignore or otherwise not engage with the message.

Study after study can be cited to show that as technological integration in everyday life has increased, so too have people shown increased anxiety, stress and social isolation. Much of this must be attributed to the fact that the average person spends so much of their day interacting with people through their smartphones. Social fatigue is something introverts have been aware of for as long as society has existed, but now, it seems that everyone is experiencing social fatigue to some degree.

It is important to remember, though, that while it may not necessarily be required to answer every message, ignoring every one or simply not interacting with friends online can be just as annoying to the senders as those who receive them. Sometimes, answering a text or a Snapchat can help foster communication and connection. It is important to balance that potential for connection with the very real effects when technology-based communication is overdone.