In fact, Twitter and Facebook and online messaging and networking in general tend to be more relaxed arenas when it comes to non-responses. One can send a tweet, and, unlike a text, itвЂ™s not opening a conversation with an inferred commitment of a dialogue for the next 5-10 minutes. IвЂ™ve made friends furious by tweeting before responding to their texts вЂ“ but a tweet is a wholly different method of communication. I kind of assumed everybody was this aloof, although deep down I know thatвЂ™s not the case, as otherwise I wouldnвЂ™t have been nicknamed вЂњdisappearing HannahвЂќ in cities on different continents.Д«ut in a world in which we are supposed to be connected all of the time вЂ“ and Facebook obviously thinks we should be re: the non existence of an вЂњoffвЂќ option on its read receipts вЂ“ I just like a bit of breathing space. Or IвЂ™d rather finish what IвЂ™m watching on Netflix. But it is that IвЂ™m half way through a New Yorker long read. Or that I have no opinion on Judd ApatowвЂ™s latest (although at times, all of the above). Or that I donвЂ™t want to go for a drink with you. ItвЂ™s not that I donвЂ™t think what you said isnвЂ™t funny. This is a common reason many others switch read receipts off, according to an open call I put out on yes I turn them off where there is the option as I respond to people late all the time- Sean Anderson August 17, 2015 I donвЂ™t want to make people feel those things.

I donвЂ™t want to ruin all of this by not replying to a text message straight away, because in an ever-connected world, a delay in response is usually viewed as rudeness, a brush-off, or the expression of irritation. I wait in line.I listen to friends talk about their exes. I donвЂ™t shoot lions on safari, or believe that immigrants are rapists. Or I have nothing to say.Д«ut I would like to think I am an OK person. Either because I am busy, or more usually, because I am lazy. This is because I am awful at returning text messages. The thought of having text message read receipts switched on, however, has me breathing into a paper bag. Since the days of horseback, via the Royal MailвЂ™s signed for service, and delivery status notifications (DNS) on email clients, we are all familiar with the concept of acknowledgment of deliverance. And the savvy know that glancing at a message on a lock screen or in a notifications centre is a good means of parsing a message without opening it. FacebookвЂ™s вЂњseen byвЂќ on messages and chat, for instance, can be cheated using browser extensions. Snapchat even informs a person whether a screenshot of a snap has been taken. But sadistic platforms, Facebook and Snapchat, do not allow the feature to be turned off.

However, this function can be toggled off, as with the blue ticks on WhatsApp.

Read receipts come in different forms across platforms and operating systems.ДЄppleвЂ™s read receipts for iOS, introduced in 2011, signal when a message is вЂњreadвЂќ, rather than just вЂњdeliveredвЂќ, along with a timestamp.

It was thinking on this last one that had me wondering (paging Carrie Bradshaw): who the hell leaves read receipts on?ДЇor the unfamiliar, a read receipt tells one the recipient of a text message has opened the message and has viewed it. Modern relations are a minefield: the mines are tears over internet search history, slanging matches about exes still friended on Facebook, or sniping at an unanswered text message. Technology, though, has added many new levels, and the ensuing potential for confusion, to our social relationships, both with acquaintances and loved ones. Flowers вЂ“ a spontaneous, fresh-scented display of thoughtfulness? Or a floral attempt to make amends, reeking of guilt? Meanwhile, relationships have always been fraught with double meanings and crossed wires. There was a time when the main thing you had to worry about in casual social situations was the decision between a peck-on-the-cheek, a handshake, or a hug upon greeting.

What are read receipts