Group texts are becoming more and more popular it seems. While sometimes they’re an annoying inconvenience that you didn’t ask to be a part of, other times it’s a wonderful way to have your whole group talking together at once. Group texts seem to always follow a certain dynamic, much like a super hero squad. There’s certain roles that always get filled by at least one person, whether they signed up for that role or not. The person who fills these roles may be switched at any given moment, depending on the conversation, but sometimes it is consistently filled by the same one. Odds are, if you’ve ever been in a group text for awhile, someone will pop into your mind as you read each of these.
The Organizer
The Organizer is the person who is constantly asking all of the questions. “When are we meeting up?” “Where are we meeting up?” “Do we need to bring anything or make a snack run?” If they don’t ask, nobody will until the last minute, and then everyone gets crabby. They’re usually also the one who ends up looking things up, such as movie showings or the hours to a place you may want to go to. The Organizer will visibly be losing patience as a group text goes on, as nobody wants to make a decision. People who never respond or phrases such as “I don’t care” or “Whatever works for you guys” are their kryptonite. Without The Organizer, nothing would get accomplished. They are a necessity to the group.
The Meme
Meme is basically around for comic relief. They will contribute to any and all conversations with a meme or a joke. The memes can vary from relevant to random, and odds are, will usually be extremely dark. The Meme takes this quality and brings it to in person conversations as well, no matter if you’re in a restaurant or around a fire. They are well aware of how to just send texts, but it isn’t as fun as sending a meme in response to things. The Meme is a valued member of the group text, and keeps things fun and interesting.
The Silence
The Silence is pretty self-explanatory. They’re in every group text but hardly ever contribute. They rarely say if they’re coming to an event or not, and usually don’t offer any suggestions unless it happens to be their own house. They will communicate to various members of the group individually but rarely as a whole. When taking a headcount, The Organizer usually just assumes that The Silence is coming, unless a different member of the group tells them otherwise. In person, they’re usually more vocal and socialize with everyone. However, they just let others speak for them in the group text. They will always be included in every group text, though, whether they speak or not.
The Mooch
The Mooch is the member of the group whose primary way of deciding if they will attend is the question “Will there be food/drinks?” If not, somehow their plans always miraculously change. They will often ask for others to pick stuff up for them, occasionally offering to pay them back. You value them as a friend and always invite them places, but they’re usually more present in the group text than they are in person.
The Flub
The Flub is the person who can never seem to go very long without messing up their words. The rest of the group is very quick to call them out on it, whether it means correcting their typo or printing it out and having it framed. Sometimes, everyone gets so carried away in correcting whatever was said that the whole point of the conversation is forgotten until The Organizer brings it back into focus. The Flub can sometimes join The Meme in being the comic relief, however, it’s usually unintentionally.
The Noob
The Noob is new to the group and doesn’t understand how things work. They just try to jump in wherever they see an opening and don’t always follow a consistent pattern. They’re no less a member of the group than anyone else, but they just haven’t been around as long.
The Salt
The Salt is the member of the group whose sass levels are off the charts. They always find something to be salty about, even if it is an instance from a very long time ago. They will sometimes merge with The Meme by using memes or jokes to bring up something or complain about something/someone. Usually, the cause of the saltiness is something that is relevant to the whole group, thus causing it to be more welcome and less of an annoyance.
These obviously aren’t all of the dynamics that you will encounter in a group text, or even just in your friend group in general. However, these are some of the main ones that I personally have experienced on a repetitive basis. Maybe some of them reminded you of specific people, possibly, even yourself.
