From the outside looking in, group texts seem perfect. It’s a place where you can stay in constant communication with all your friends, family and whoever else you might need to talk to in a large group, like a team or pledge class.  

However, before jumping into an open communication forum with several other people who have varying schedules and levels of group chat enthusiasm, it’d best to be aware of the emotional stages of joining a group chat. 

1. Excitement 
Finally, there is one place to chat with all of your friends in one place. It’s perfect to plan a night out because EVERYONE can text their plans to one place, meaning no more sending several different texts to individual people. Plus, what could be better than staying in constant communication with your friends? 

2. Amusement
What better place to send all your hilarious one-liners than to your brand new group text? Instead of having to wait to see your friends to tell them the hilarious joke you just thought of, you can literally send it at any time. It’s like having your own personal stand up show right at your finger tips.  

3. Slight Annoyance
One day you’ll find yourself slammed with homework and the constant buzzing of your group chat notifications will not fill you with your original feelings of excitement and amusement. Instead, you’ll find a slight twinge of annoyance, but it is only a small one that passes fairly quickly once your homework is completed. 

4. Actual Annoyance
One day or night it will hit you: you’ll either be cramming for a test, trying to sleep or attempting to focus on anything other than the buzzing of your group chat. But it just won’t stop. You contemplate throwing your phone out the window, but settle for turning it on “Do not disturb” mode and pretending that it’s not bugging you in the slightest. 

5. Acceptance
This last and final stage is when you accept that being a part of a group chat is just your life now, and more importantly you accept that you are happy about it. While the previous four steps will constantly rotate and change, accepting them is part of the process. You decided to join a group chat with these people for a reason and, while it might not be the best at all times, sometimes there is nothing better than having that group to turn to after a particularly bad day or to reminisce about the awesome night you had before.  

One thing is for sure; once you are in, you are in for the long haul. So be sure you know what you’re getting into and enjoy the crazy, non-stop ride that is the group text life.