Group messaging is something you either love or hate. From the constant pinging of your phone to your iPhone freezing because you’re simply receiving too many text messages, group messaging is an art you must get used to in order to fully enjoy its potential. iOS 9.3.1 allowed college students to add their own quirks to their instant messages. For most college students, group messaging (GM) is a necessity of life. Their GM becomes their court of justice. Personally, I am in four active GMs. I will always ask their opinions, whether it is about a pair of Nike Air’s that I want to purchase, or if this Victoria Secret Crewneck is truly worth it. You will quickly learn that making plans is simply impossible, the number of Tinder screenshots becomes unbelievably unreal and the topics you discuss have no limits. But there are rules to this game of madness, the golden rule of group messages: do not think it's fun or cute to only talk to one person in the group text about something that ONLY YOU TWO KNOW!
You will realize that you become quickly dependent on the GM members' opinions (pathetic I know), but who is better to ask than the people you talk to every waking moment of the day. Each one of my GM’s has their own personality, differing from my Greek family to my best friends, but the one thing all of my GM’s have in common is entertainment. If you’re anything like me, these random thoughts have all occurred to you at some point in time:
1. “Why am I a part of this group message?”
2. “I want to make a new message without her..”
3. “If she sends one more see a chug send a chug, I am leaving this GM.”
4. “Why is everyone bashing on me?”
5. “Did she seriously just ask how to cook a hard-boiled egg?”
6. “Why is no one responding to me?”
7. “I am going to spam them until they respond!”
8. “I wonder if the GM will like this?” *sends picture
9. “I am in class, I shouldn’t be on my phone, but we are talking about Corrine”
10. “The tension is increasing…yay” *sits back and relaxes
While many of you have probably had these thoughts running through your head, there is, of course, something that is making you stay. I stay mostly because I have a severe case of FOMO (fear of missing out). Or it's because the amount of incrementing photo evidence, or even maybe because I will miss my phone lighting up and buzzing 24/7. But a group message is more than a group of friends in a text chat, this is the root of friendships.
“One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.” -Lucius Annaeus Seneca
They will make you smile, be angry, and always make you laugh, not just because of the random, but needed GIF wars or random roast sessions, but because you know that your people are there for you, for better or for worse. Whether you think you want to die from your stubbies hangover, explain why you think dogs are better than cats, or simply text to look like you have multiple friends, group messages will always be there for you. So the next time you’re added to a GM titled “Buttz N' Stuff,” don’t roll your eyes. Get ready for the late night texts and early morning pings. Congratulations, you have just been entered into the group message circus.
