Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to expect dh to answer/acknowledge texts?

29 replies

maybenow · 03/06/2012 14:26

i'm not a prolific texter, and dh and i don't phone or email each other through the day but sometimes something happens that is quite exciting or i get news i want to tell him or if i've been travelling from work and i'm really delayed or i go out after work unexpectedly so i text him.

he treats this entirely like 'incoming information' and never sees any reason to reply unless i ask a specific question in the text.

i've mentioned this to him lots of times, and often tell him the news again when he gets home with a 'i don't know if you saw my text?' when he says he did say it i will say 'well you could have acknowledged it', i don't want to HAVe to remember to tell him the information again once i've already texted it.

even if it's just 'my plane is delayed an hour' i'd like him to text back 'that's shit, see you when you get here' rather than just radio silence.

am i unreasonable to want a simple acknowledgement without out having to sign off every text with 'rsvp'?

OP posts:
Mrsjay · 03/06/2012 14:28

My husband does this drives me potty , I understand he is busy and I dont text all day , he can be in jobs etc but when he comes home and i say did you get my text about... yes i did Hmm . he will only answer when i have asked a question

SquidgyBiscuits · 03/06/2012 14:30

YABU.

If something is so important pick the phone up and make a call.

It pisses me off when people just assume I can, or want to, respond to their text the very moment I receive it. Especially if it is just telling me something. And then where does it end? If we have to acknowledge ever single text we receive, we'd never stop as it would all just snowball.

ilovesooty · 03/06/2012 14:32

I think if you text to say you're delayed or arrangements have changed a reply could be expected, not if you just texted some news which could be discussed when he's finished work.

ImperialBlether · 03/06/2012 14:33

Squidgy, she's talking about her husband here, not some random cold caller.

ImperialBlether · 03/06/2012 14:34

OP, it sounds an unfriendly thing to not respond. How is he otherwise?

maybenow · 03/06/2012 14:41

he's not an unfriendly person at all imperial, not in person, just rubbish with texts... wonder if he'd prefer a phonecall as squidgy suggests? I tend to only phone if it's an emergency... text if it's important but not immediate iykwim?

OP posts:
SquidgyBiscuits · 03/06/2012 14:43

I don't reply to texts from anybody, husband included, unless it involves a question. I hate texting!

maybenow · 03/06/2012 14:43

actually he's just texted me to say he's finished his bike ride safely and just grabbing a bite to eat so should be home in an hour.... if this was me texting the same he'd not answer.. but i want to say 'see you later, i'll be in when you get back'... nothing important, just acknowledging his text... should i not bother either?

OP posts:
Mrsjay · 03/06/2012 14:43

I have come to the conclusion that DH is just not chatty like us may your husband is probably the same ,

Longdistance · 03/06/2012 14:47

My dh sonetimes ignores my calls, and then doesn't call me til he's on his way home from work Confused would be really handy if we ended up in a&e with one of the dd's as have often rung him several times one after another before, and he still never picks up.
I agree, very rude, and if you're gonna own a phone, at least bloody answer it!!!

Pandemoniaa · 03/06/2012 15:02

It'd have to be earth shatteringly exciting news for me to text dp with it when he's at work and vice versa.

It's not unreasonable to expect an acknowledgement to a text about something that actually matters though.

maybenow · 03/06/2012 15:16

last time i texted him at work it was cause i got a job i went for... i just wanted to share that with him cause it WAS pretty big news to me. he didn't answer but when he got home and i said 'did you get my text' he said 'yes, well done, that's great news'... don't know why he couldn't have texted that hours earlier.

glad i'm not alone though and other seem to be in same situation.. it's not a big thing, just a minor irritation.

OP posts:
madmouse · 03/06/2012 15:19

Dh complained that to keep up with me he has to read fb because whatever happens to me is on there. So something happened and I made a point of texting him before putting it on fb. And got no reply...again...

Mrsjay · 03/06/2012 15:21

I think he should have text you back may but probably its not high up in his priorities to text , It is annoying though ,

ImperialBlether · 03/06/2012 15:22

I'd be really annoyed, tbh. How difficult is it to text a few words?

wrathomum · 03/06/2012 15:24

My DH is the same. Like you say - a minor irritation.

dexter73 · 03/06/2012 15:58

I am like your dh. If my dh sends me a text to say he is late then I don't text him back to say I have received his message. Mind you he doesn't expect me too. If he asked me to then I would.

TidyDancer · 03/06/2012 16:00

OP, YANBU. It is very annoying to not receive an acknowledgement.

If you were relaying this information in person, would you expect someone to stand there, receive the news, and walk off without a word? No. Text replies, while more of a delay, deserve the same courtesy.

FredFredGeorge · 03/06/2012 16:03

If every message requires a response, even when it's just information - how do you expect the texting to stop? 'cos your response to his text, would then also demand a response by your reckoning? If you need a response, ask a question, if you're just giving info, don't expect a response. "see you later" is pretty pointless message, doesn't tell anyone anything.

TidyDancer · 03/06/2012 16:04

It's when a sole text doesn't get a response. Ongoing text conversations don't count.

Lambzig · 03/06/2012 16:05

My DH is the same, ignores phone calls too. Minor irritation, but annoying when its about who is going to pick up DD that night or whether he can pick up dinner on his way home and I dont know if he has even got the texts/voicemails. He gets really annoyed if I dont respond to his calls or texts too.

IslandMoose · 03/06/2012 16:34

YABU - very needy behaviour on your part, imo

LoveHandles88 · 03/06/2012 16:50

Why don't you just make sure all your texts to him involve a question?

TidyDancer · 03/06/2012 17:09

Oh FFS this is not needy behaviour, it's common courtesy.

puds11 · 03/06/2012 17:10

Nah, men suck. Work on that basis and your never dissapointed.