In the last few years, social media has transformed the way we communicate, and it helps us stay connected. Yes, it’s true that it has become a part of our daily lives and some can’t spend a day without it. Most of us here are always sharing snippets of what goes on during the day to our friends, but there are times we receive unwanted texts. There is a way out of this and there are several ways for you to tell someone to stop contacting you. We’ve covered tips for many instances in this piece for you so that you can pick the one that you feel will work best for you.
How To Get Someone To Stop Texting You – 12 Almost Polite Ways
With the onset of the Metaverse, the way we experience social media is undergoing rapid change. This is already the generation that has seen the most technological reforms than any other. We’ve transitioned from waiting days to receive a letter from the post to being able to type an SMS (the 90s kids know what I’m talking about) and now to texting each other on various platforms throughout the day. While this should have made a lot of people’s lives easier, the rest of us are out here looking for ways to tell someone to stop contacting you sighs and avoid the cycle of blame game. I love being on social media, but there are days when it is difficult to shake the feeling of wanting to throw your phone in another room and not be hit by any digital stimulus. So for the days that you’ll be plugged into the matrix, here are 12 polite ways for you to get annoying people to stop texting you.
1. Use the excuse of being super occupied
Being busy is a great excuse if you wish to get someone to stop texting you without blocking them. It’s a convenient excuse which doesn’t need a lot of effort and you can be certain that it will work for you. There are unwritten rules to texting and since it’s the most common form of communication these days, some people use it as a way to be an annoyance to others. Whether you’re a Gen-Zer or a millennial, everyone who has a phone understands what the different kinds of texting behavior mean. Here’s how you can use the excuse of being busy and politely ask someone to stop texting you
“Hi there, I missed your message, I’ve been really caught up with my work. How about I text you when I’m free?”
“I am overloaded with my life events right now; I won’t be able to make time to text you right now.”
This is a covert way to politely ask someone to stop texting you. Your constant excuse of being busy is sending them a message that you’re no longer interested in having a conversation. This tactic works well in any situation as you’ll be dropping a hint that you’re not interested in having a conversation. How else can you deal with a clingy individual?
2. Leave them on read when they text you
Want to know how do you stop someone from texting you without ghosting them? The easiest way to get someone to stop texting you without blocking them is by leaving their messages on read. Leaving someone on read is the modern-day equivalent of walking out on a person in the middle of a conversation. Don’t buy into the bullshit notion that leaving them on read makes you a bad person. If you’re looking for an answer on how to get someone to stop texting you on Instagram then look no further. I want you to switch apps, open your DM and leave that individual’s chat on read. Done. This is a simple and highly effective tactic that works well during this time when most of our communication is online. Dating online has it’s disadvantages and if wish to tell someone to stop contacting you, “someone” being a person you’re not into, leave them on read and they’ll hopefully get the message. In case they don’t, the next point will get them to stop texting you.
3. Assertively communicate
If you want to tell someone to stop contacting you, the best way to go about it is by politely asking them for space. Before you have the conversation with them, sit with yourself, and take a mental note of the reasons why you don’t wish to talk to them so you can articulate them better while having the conversation. Here are a few examples of how you can politely ask someone to stop texting you:
“I truly enjoy being your go-to person to talk to but there’s a lot going on in my life right now and I could use some space.”
“I would appreciate it if you let me initiate the next conversation when I have the space to talk.”
Depending on the kind of relationship you share with this person, this conversation can either be a difficult one or it’ll be over for you in the blink of an eye. Communicate your reasons with them in a firm and assertive manner. It’s important for the one on the receiving end of this to make sense of why you wish to break contact from this unhealthy relationship. If the person is of a sane mind, they will respect your decision and leave you alone even if they may not agree with you or want to maintain contact. Then you have achieved the ultimate thing – that was the intention to begin with in the first place. Now you know how to get someone to stop texting you by being assertive with them.
4. Convey the message through a mutual
Have you already tried the other things from this list of things to tell someone to stop contacting you? Then it’s time to deploy your trusted troops into the field. This one’s simple – all you need is an owl (Hedwig is preferable), a letter, and you can now tell someone to stop contacting you Harry Potter style! If an owl feels like bit of a stretch, you should consider sending the message through the next best thing you find after Hedwig – your muggle best friend. This way is the ideal way for those who wish to know how to get someone to stop texting you without drama and awkwardness. Whether it’s a friend you wish to distance yourself from because you’ve outgrown the friendship or a summer fling taken too seriously turned into unhealthy flirting, this simple trick will get someone to stop texting you without blocking them.
5. Peg it on a “third party”
The idea to write this post on how to get someone to stop texting you was inspired by one of our readers. Emma reached out to us asking for tips to get her ex-best friend to stop texting her. The catch is that Emma mentioned she is currently in her sophomore year and she doesn’t want any drama to follow her. So Emma, I hope you are reading, here is how to tell a friend to stop texting you so much and avoid any drama. When you peg it on someone else who’s a very important part of your life, you’re free from the drama or taking any accountability for having to break contact. If you have an ex you’ve been meaning to draw physical and emotional boundaries but can’t due to their clingy behavior, this is your ticket. You can tell your ex you’ve started to see someone new, and that your new partner doesn’t find it suitable for the two of you to talk anymore. Send this to get someone to stop texting you without blocking them
“Hi, it seems like we can’t talk to each other here on because name gets upset when we talk and I don’t want that for us.”
“I can’t text you anymore because it’s uncomfortable for name and our relationship has already run its course. I wish you well in life.”
6. The digital detox excuse
rubs their strained eyes Post-pandemic the amount of time we spend in front of our screens has increased multifold. When we’re not working, we’re binge-watching and of course, there is the mindless scrolling through Instagram for hours on end. You’re probably thinking to yourself – what does this have to do with getting someone to stop texting you? We’re killing two birds with one stone. A digital detox is a great excuse if you can’t work up the nerve to tell a friend to stop texting you so much. Even if you don’t wish to go through a digital detox, telling this to your friend will give you the needed space. This trick is going to work wonderfully if you’re dealing with an emotionally immature person. Need a workplace acquaintance to buzz off? Tell them that you’ll be unavailable outside of the workplace because you wish to take some time off from the screen. As a safety net, back this up with an activity you’ll be replacing this habit with, so that they don’t heckle to hang out in person. shudders If all goes well, they’ll take the hint or lose interest and stop texting you once you’re back on the grid. Among these tips on “how to get someone to stop texting you”, this is our favorite one.
7. Respond with a lot of delays
Delayed responses are a major turn off and they take the fun out of texting. Texting etiquette is a real thing. If you wish to send a message across which shows that you want to be left alone, then breaking those etiquette will skew the situation in your favor. Delayed responses is one the biggest turn offs for women. This works well because as people of the internet, we know how to make time to reply to the people who matter to us. So when you don’t have the patience to politely ask someone to stop texting you day in, day out this neat trick will save you the effort of having the conversation, and yet get the job done well. When you respond to them after days, there’s a good chance that the content of their text has become irrelevant. As a natural consequence, they’ll leave you be. We can assure you that one or two instances are all it’ll take for you to go back to conducting your life without them in it. We hope that answers your question on “how to get someone to stop texting you?”.
8. How do you stop someone from texting you without ghosting them? Send dry texts
If delayed responses didn’t work for you, then we suggest you do the next best thing and make sure that your replies are dry. There’s truly nothing worse than a dry texter, is there? How else to tell a friend to stop texting you so much who wouldn’t listen or pick up any subtle hints. We’re talking “oh alright”, “mhmm”, “cool” and if you’re dealing with someone in a professional setting then a formal “yes” and “no” will do the job. A way to make this work more effectively is by ending your reply with a period in the end. It’s generally very self-explanatory when you add a period at the end of the text. Just make sure you don’t let the conversation get anywhere and you’ve successfully learned the life skill of “how do you stop someone from texting you without ghosting them?”. Make sure this stays limited to this one person, please don’t be a dry-texter otherwise.
9. Confront them that you don’t want texts from them
During the start of this piece, we gave you a few tips on how to politely ask someone to stop texting you but it’s possible to be polite with someone who’s not respecting your emotional boundaries. It is, for this reason, we suggest that you confront them. Things change if you’re dealing with someone who’s into you, but you don’t feel the same about them. If you’re really annoyed, you can simply text – “I am flattered that you’re into me but this isn’t working anymore. I need you to stop texting me”. There are different ways to confronting a person and it’s advisable to pick your approach based on the kind of relationship you share with this individual. If you’re confronting a clingy ex who’s recently unblocked you, you can just toggle the upper case on your keyboard and text – “I NEED YOU TO STOP TEXTING ME OR I WILL BLOCK YOU”. Be sure that you don’t leave them any room to misinterpret your texts, no more subtle hints or conveying messages through a friend. Your threshold of patience was breached long ago, and you deserve to have the space you need. Even though it’s not ideal, that’s how to get someone to stop texting you by confronting them.
10. Pleading them is an option if you can’t completely cut them out of your life
Maybe you’re dealing with a workplace acquaintance, or a client and you find yourself stuck in a situation where you will have to occasionally see them. That’s when you can consider resorting to the option of pleading with them. How to get someone to stop texting you by pleading?
“I beg you to stop texting me outside of work.”
“Unless absolutely necessary, I can live without you texting me.”
You’re creating an impression that they’ve crossed all the healthy boundaries of a friendship and ignored every hint you’ve tried to drop, and this will make them instantly realize that there is no hope here. Once you make them feel that their presence in your messages is unwarranted, they’ll leave.
11. How to get someone to stop texting you on Instagram? Block them
sighs I was hoping it didn’t come to this but seeing that you’re still here, the other ways haven’t worked clearly. Now, in this case, – a little drama’s okay, right? We’re determined to help you get this bothersome individual to stop texting you. Blocking people is a form of self-care in our opinion. Unless you constantly weed the extras out, you’re going to end up with nothing but weeds in your social circle. Most people associate blocking as a negative act, but that should not be the case. So whether you wish to ensure a closure with an ex-partner or an ex-best friend, don’t feel guilty about blocking them if they’re not respectful about your boundaries. A toxic relationship can come in any form and should not be tolerated. Save yourself the misery of maintaining a connection you’ve grown out of by dumping their contact into the blocked section of your phone. That’s how to get someone to stop texting you on Instagram.
12. Change numbers
If you really insist on taking the “not being rude” part seriously then you should simply get a new number for yourself. Why should you tell someone to stop contacting you and have an awkward conversation when you can cut them off at the source? Honestly getting a new number is not even a bad idea, most of us get spammed promotional calls and business opportunities if someone’s been using the same number for a few years. Not to forget several other people you don’t want to have your contact number. This is a great tactic for you to put an end to their texts once and for all and start fresh and this time you can consciously choose the number of people you’re sharing your contact with, and not find yourself in a similar situation once again. With that you’ve come to the end of this list. Whenever you’re getting someone to stop texting you, be considerate of the fact that there will be some people who feel you’ve added a lot of value to their lives and they may require a little more work to be rid of.
