Texting Etiquette #1: Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon

Rule #1: Just because they don't have to respond right away doesn't mean that you can/should text people at all hours of the night.

A lot of people use their phones as their alarm clocks, especially during college. I think I may know of four people who actually use a real clock. Due to this employment of cell phones as alarm clocks, most people have their phones on 24 hours a day. This means when you text them at 4 o'clock in the morning, their phone will either ring or vibrate to let them know they have a message.

Usually, they end up thinking that's their alarm clock and shoot out of bed.

This does not please anyone.

Especially if they were dead to the world just a moment ago.

I don't care that the world sees college students as night owls or that most of the time that assessment is blindingly accurate. I do care that it's very rude, inconsiderate, and not very nice to wake someone up, especially during college when we don't get that much sleep in the first place, with some inane message about whether the club we're in together has a meeting late tomorrow night or if my apartment is open to viewing sometime this upcoming week.

Dude. You couldn't have waited until 10 o'clock in the morning to ask me that? It was that urgent that you felt you had to inquire right.that.instant. else you'd expire? Somehow, I don't think so.

In a world abounding with instant everything {messaging, noodles, whatever}, I think we forget to take into account other people and how our actions affect them. Normally, I understand that we get carried away and forget that it's three in the morning which isn't the best time to ask someone if they're free to have lunch with you Wednesday, but I felt I had to say something about the topic since this past night, not only did I get a text at 2am, I also got one at 6:30am. They made me kind of grumpy, you might say.

So. Here's the general rule, people. Pleasepleaseplease follow it if you don't want to get a testy text back from the person you just so thoughtlessly woke up.

Do NOT text people after 10pm or before 9am unless they are EXPECTING you to or you know FOR CERTAIN they are awake.

For college students, that nighttime cut off can probably be pushed back to 11pm, but that's as far as it goes.

Don't be jerks, guys. Just because you're not asleep doesn't mean others aren't either. And considering this is college and we're on the quarter system, there's a 45% chance they pulled an all-nighter the night before due to midterms or papers or projects. If you want them to remain your friends, don't wake them up.