The Day I Let a Superstition Kill the Vibe

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Gone are the days when certain superstitions used to freak people out—especially me. Different pieces of information were flying around, and we believed them with the speed of light. Personally, I did a lot of things back then because of these so-called superstitions, and at some point, I started regretting it because it almost put a valuable friendship at risk.

One of the trending superstitions at the time was about double texting. The belief was that if you kept texting someone repeatedly—every few seconds or minutes without giving them space—it would make you seem desperate.

I once had this online female friend. We used to chat daily back then. At some point, I thought she was just the busy type, because whenever I texted her, it would take a while before she replied. I, on the other hand, could send 3–4 messages within a few minutes, as though I was jobless or constantly online. Whenever she finally replied, I would respond immediately. The fun in chatting with her made me overlook the time gaps and late responses. I was just genuinely excited to see her messages.

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I don’t know if the feeling was mutual, but I didn’t care—until one day. That day changed everything. I was scrolling through my Facebook feed when I came across a post that said, “Double texting makes you look desperate.” Chai! I had to immediately search for what double texting really meant, and that was when a flood of thoughts started racing through my mind.

Was she intentionally leaving me on read? Did she also believe that double texting meant desperation? Did she think I was desperate? I couldn’t bring myself to ask her, but things definitely changed that day.

I began leaving her on read too. At first, it felt awkward. If she replied an hour later, I would also make sure to respond an hour later. Funny thing—she didn’t notice at all. Gradually, the excitement faded. Weeks later, when my frequent messages stopped, she finally reached out to ask if everything was okay. I used the “I’m kind of busy these days” excuse, but she knew something was off. We eventually had a serious conversation about it, but nothing really changed. We still talk once in a while, but now it’s mostly just viewing each other’s status updates.

That statement—“Double texting means desperation”—even though it’s just a superstition, still has some impact on me to this day. Before I double text anyone now, I try to make sure the energy is mutual. If it’s not, I just stop the conversation before someone sees me as being desperate.