Scenario 1: You’re at this office party which is filled with some high profile guests. It seems like a sophisticated party, because it’s only wine and champagne and a couple of people using carefully picked up words to initiate conversations. After you’ve mingled with a few people, on the pretext of putting you in touch with a vendor who sells premium scented candles, or intricate art, a guy (perhaps a colleague) has taken down your number. You aren’t worried, because this is okay. It isn’t some guy off the street trying to stalk you. But even before you got home, this guy has sent you three texts, one forward, and a “funny” meme! That’s still okay, because you still want to be put in touch with the candle vendor and that artist. Even after your business is over with this guy, he won’t stop messaging.
Sound familiar?
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Scenario 2: You’re at a friend’s birthday bash and have been gulping down the cocktails like water on a thirsty day. So, your friend has invited almost everyone on her ‘contacts list,’ and one of her colleagues is now making small talk with you. You do encourage him because you may not know everyone at this bash. You think it’s okay, because again, although this guy is someone you don’t really know, he is someone your friend works with. How can he be harmful? So, sharing your number with him seems pretty harmless and you do so. Yet again, this guy sends you good morning, good afternoon, good evening, and good night messages the next day.
Sound familiar?
Scenario 3: You’re at your cousin’s wedding party. Amidst all the fun and dancing, your aunt wants to set you up with her distance relative. She introduces you both, and lets you ‘mingle’ with this guy. He seems nice, a little shy at first but gives you good company through the whole event. By the end of the night, you both exchange numbers (you can’t help it. If you don’t give him your number, your aunt will surely give it to him). So after saying goodbye, you head home. The next few days are nothing less than mental torture because the guy just won’t stop messaging you!
What do you do?
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Apart from kicking yourself in the head for being irresponsible, there may not be a better way to deal with this. Sometimes women think that they brought this on themselves because they did share their number with the guy, didn’t they?
But is that right? Does blaming yourself help? It only makes you miserable. Because you’re not interested in this person and you have dropped all those subtle hints to tell him the same. Not responding, ignoring and all. Well, the man still doesn’t get the message, and goes on harassing you.
Isn’t it up to the guy to be responsible for his behavior? Isn’t messaging someone constantly, amount to harassment?
Yes, it is. It’s like poking someone in their side to talk to you even when they aren’t interested. But most guys who display such behavior know nothing about consent. And it is then the woman’s responsibility to convey the message to him – loud and clear.
How to get someone to stop texting you?
Well, there are more than a few ways to do this. Depending upon the kind of jerk you’ve unwittingly attracted, there are different ways to get them off your back. Each depending upon the kind of person the guy is.
Sometimes, being straightforward helps. Sometimes, it’s best to confront them. Then there are multiple ways to ignore and block people out. And in extreme cases, we have to report the incident to the concerned authorities.
Here are 12 failproof tips on how to get someone to stop texting you.
1. Ignore
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This probably comes to us naturally. If you are a woman on this planet, you learn very early in life to ignore a lot of things. Somehow, it is taught to us indirectly that the best way a woman can safeguard herself is by ignoring something that is bothering her. Although this may not be the best approach to the situation at hand, ignoring a person’s messages and texts will make him realize that you aren’t interested in him. So what if he sends you ten questions asking you about your whereabouts? Just don’t respond. If he’s smart, he’ll get the point.
2. Say it out loud
Sometimes, people don’t understand, or deliberately choose not to, the subtle hints you drop. That’s when you have to spell it out for them. You can politely tell the guy that you aren’t interested in chatting with him. End of story! You don’t have to pretend that you are busy, or simply say that you have a boyfriend. A no is a no. And men need to know that.
3. Confront
When the water reaches your head, it’s time to take some action. Despite your futile attempts to ignore him and tell him you’re not interested, a guy may be pushing his luck with you. That’s when he needs that confrontation. Don’t hesitate to be upfront with him, and tell him, in no uncertain terms, that he needs to stop texting you.
Suggested read: Why dirty texting too soon with your date could spell the death of your fledgling relationship
4. Block
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Most phones these days have a feature that lets you block people. Be it calls, or even messages (text and WhatsApp both). We can’t thank the creators of this function enough, can we? A very efficient tool, the ‘blocking’ option, works best when the guy simply won’t give up. This way, they can’t send you any messages or see your activity. An easy, simple, and efficient way to get rid of someone virtually!
5. Use smart apps
Every device you use, be it android, Google, or iOS, there are way too many smart apps to help you identify unknown numbers/callers, and let you decide if you should answer them or not. Download these apps, for they are very useful in identifying a number not familiar to you.
6. Irritate them
When nothing works, you could use some repulsive tactics to get these guys off of your back. Say really mean things, or make fun of them. Irritate them with long, boring, seemingly never-ending stupid messages and forwards. Send them texts in a different language. Forward some of your spam mail to them. There are lots of ways to annoy a person, but don’t humiliate them.
7. Change your number
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We hope you don’t have to do this. But when push comes to shove, you may have to take this step. It may seem like a humongous task to get rid of a person by changing your phone number. Because you have to save your contacts, sync them with your data cloud, and then notify all of your contacts about the number change (minus the creep). So, yes, it’s quite a task, but then what are the other options to get rid of such relentless creeps?
8. Get a friend to do the job
There’s always that one friend who comes in handy when you have to drive away a few demons, no? Get your friend to convey the message strictly, or simply send a few harmless threats via that friend to this irritating guy. However unsavory this might seem, sometimes you have to use these methods. If you have a guy friend who you can trust, he could pose as your boyfriend to do the job.
9. Use different settings
The new feature on WhatsApp tells you when a person has read your messages or not. But if you go into the privacy settings, you can change that. Did you know this? Yes, our smartphones have several such features that can help you stay invisible from jerks like these. Start exploring your phones and other gadgets to use these to your advantage.
10. Use the ‘excuses’
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“My battery died,” “Sorry, lost all contacts,” “I’m so busy,” are great ways to use as excuses to not respond to unwanted people. Making excuses to shun someone must send them a message bold and clear.
11. Error message
Well, go for this if you’re in the mood to play a little dirty game. And when I say dirty, I really mean – being outright mean. You could send them a “404 error” message, or “Message delivery failure” message back. If they’re smart enough, they’ll get the point and be out of your hair.
Suggested read: Why texting your ex is a double-edged sword
12. Report them
When someone gets downright annoying despite all your efforts to tell them that you aren’t interested, you must not shy away from reporting these cases to the cops. Sometimes, a restraining order or a nice yelling from the authorities is what is needed. So, don’t hesitate to complain to the cops when it gets out of your hands.
If you’re still wondering how to get someone to stop texting you, think no more. These 12 tips should help you get that monkey off your back.
Featured image source: Pixabay, under Creative Commons License
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