To think that maybe you shouldn't text people at midnight?

[Sallystyle]

This really isn't a big deal but I wondered how many people happily texts someone late at night.

My son belongs to a football team and the manager always sends out a text a couple of days before to let us know if it is still on and any other information we might need to know. Every week he texts us all around midnight without fail. Personally, it doesn't bother me as I don't sleep well but I imagine it could be annoying for others.

I have my mobile on all night in case of emergencies (and it's my alarm clock) and I assume that most people do as well now plenty of people no longer have landlines. I treat texting like I would a phone call, I wouldn't call anyone at midnight and neither would I send a text that late.

So what about you? would you mind getting a text at midnight for something that could wait for a reasonable time? and do you ever send text messages that late?

No, I certainly wouldn't send routine texts that late and I wouldn't be chuffed if I got woken up by them!

Why don't you tell him to stop texting so late at night?

No, wouldn't bother me to be honest.....if I really don't want to be disturbed I would switch the phone off or put it on silent. You can still use the alarm clock when it is in silent mode, well you can on mine) and texting isn't like ringing is it...well, not unless you have an endless text tone! Maybe that is the time he actually gets to sit down and sort it out and so he just does it when he thinks of it. Presumably if people find it annoying they would tell him anyway.

I don't actually know anyone who does not have a land line phone...we keep ours because we need it for sky/broadband etc.

No, I don't send or like to receive texts at night. I generally miss them anyway as I'm asleep.

Someone sent one at 10pm the other night, I didn't see it till morning and it wasn't important anyway. Makes me a bit

I would tell him but I am still up reading so it doesn't bother me personally.

Plus, this is the last week my son goes.

I am a light sleeper these days (used to be a heavy one before DCs arrived ) and there's no way I could have my mobile on in the bedroom. If the matter is urgent people can use the landline as a text alert would definitely wake me up.

Routine matters shouldn't be dealt with by midnight texts, send them out at reasonable times.

I probably text up until 11pm/11.30pm, but then generally assume that people do as I do and have their phones on silent/vibrate only and that it wouldn't wake them up (if they're even asleep at this time).

I sleep through mine (and emails too which also vibrate when received). Alarm works when on vibrate/silent.

I don't know, texts can be received all hours now (especially automated ones) so I don't really consider time sent or received in the same way as I would with a phone call.

I have to have my phone on silent with vibrate off just in case anyone texts past 10pm.

I don't find it a bother doing this.

I do have a landline though if someone needed to contact me in an emergency.

Depends who I'm texting. I'm a night owl, I'll happily text other nightowlie friends at 2am. The ones who have to be up at 6am? Them, I text at lunchtime.

I think texts are not quite like a phone call though. They contain information that is no different if it is not seen immediately. If I text something very late at night, I accept that they may not see it till morning because they may be asleep and have their phones on silent, and if it needs a reply before then I should be phoning them instead. A text, to me, is like an email - a non-instant form of communication, for the recipient to reply to when it suits them.

our phones are left downstairs for this reason - but DH's boss sometimes texts and emails late and it wakes me up and gives me the rage

he texted at 8am on a sunday the other week and DH sent something snippy back about waiting till midday

Lol, Yama. It is ds3's fault, actually I'm off to bed in a minute.

Wouldn't occur to me to be concerned about the timing of any text I send.

I certainly wouldn't phone anyone with something routine late at night. I see texts as non-urgent messages and have never previously seen it as a problem to send one whatever the time.

However, I do have a landline and a proper alarm clock, so am not in the same boat as the OP and possibly not the same generation either.

Any time after 10.30 is too late for most texts - and may I add into this, people who know you have a small baby who wakes up most nights but who still text you at 7.00 am - MIL I'm looking at you!

I know Rooney - in my 20's I was always the last up on a night out/at a party. I think I have exhausted my allowed awake hours and so need my sleep now.

Ive always had my mobile on silent & no vibrate, for years. The alarm still works like that.

It would drive me mad if I could hear texts/calls ect.

yes I get so few texts that I will usually assume it's important, and said person does know I have a small baby, and said 'sorry for the late text' - I mean why send it then? It wasn't exactly urgent.

Surely just turn text alert off? You wouldn't think it odd to receive an email ay midnight and respond the next day, surely text is the same?

If people don't want to be disturbed by texts or emails, they ought to turn their text and email alerts off.

It's not difficult.

Both are modes of communication you use when you're not sure someone will welcome being disturbed and you don't need an immediate response. If you need answers right away, you phone.

I'd send a text at any time, if something came into my head that I needed to deal with. If something was important, then I'd ring. I assume the ringing would disturb, but the text wouldn't.

Perhaps I don't see the issue here, because I don't use texts for "chat".

I think that if the football manager is doing a voluntary job running the team then it's up to him when he sends his texts. I do a voluntary role which involves contacting a lot of people and although I try to be courteous, I am often awake in the small hours, worrying about what I do, so it would be great to be able to deal with the communication there and then .

Personally I don't understand this obsession with leaving your mobile on at all times, we all coped before mobiles you know !

"our phones are left downstairs for this reason"

Not a good idea. The emergency services advise against doing this in case you need to use a phone urgently and you don't have/can't access your landline.

We still have a landline and alarm clocks and all mobiles get switched off at night in our house. The only people who would need us urgently would ring the landline anyway.

yes landlines may not work in case of a fire.

This doesn't really answer the question, but may help with a solution (for other people if not the OP!) on iphones (and presumably other phones as well), in settings, you can use 'do not disturb' to have your phone set up so it only accepts calls from your 'favourite' numbers - good if you have a DC who's out late/sick relative, and you won't get disturbed by any non-favourite numbers.

I have a bit in my phone settings to block notifications during specified hours so I dont get text notifications but will still get incoming calls and the alarm will still work between 10pm and 6.45am (you can set it for any timeframe you want)