Northwood has TWO ATHLETES SIGNED to Division 1 schools.

BEING LEFT ON ‘READ’

BY CAROLINE MURRELL STAFF WRITER

As soon as you wake up, the first thing you do is open Snapchat to check if your crush from math class responded to the snap you sent last night. What you see makes your stomach drop; the red “opened” symbol beside their name stares at you, almost mocking the fact that they read your message and didn’t respond. Did I say something wrong? Do they hate me? These questions plague your mind throughout the day, as well as feelings of self-doubt and embarrassment. You dread the class you share together and can’t even bring yourself to look at them even when they ask you what answer you got for #7. You go home and plop down on your bed, ready to sulk the rest of the evening, when suddenly your phone pings. It’s a Snapchat from your crush! You’re anxious to open the message, but you still wait a few minutes before opening it to avoid seeming desperate. When you finally open it, the message says “Hey! Sorry, I’ve been really busy the past day and forgot to answer my snaps.” Relief floods over your body, and you even start to feel silly about being so upset; they had a perfectly good reason for not being able to respond. So why did you get so worked up over it? In this age of modern technology and social media, we are now able to constantly be in contact with the people in our lives. This phenomenon can be a blessing, but also a curse. On one hand, it’s convenient to have a fast and easy way to communicate with our family and friends, but on the other hand, it can make us unhealthily dependent on being in constant contact with others. On most text messaging and social media platforms, there is a feature in messages known as “read receipts,” letting you know whether or not the person you have messaged has seen your text. Though it seems insignificant, being ignored hurts. We may feel this way even if a person decides to leave us on “delivered” by not opening our message. We are prompted to question if that person is mad at us, or if we are annoying them. As communication via smartphone continues to assert itself as the norm in teenagers’ daily lives, with 98% of Generation Z owning a smartphone according to a Pew Research Center Poll conducted in 2018, so does this new kind of anxiety. The concern with being left on “read” is one of the many negative effects that the overuse of social media and texting can have on our mental health. According to a 2018 study published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology titled “No More FOMO: Limiting Social Media Decreases Loneliness and Depression,” there is a strong link between regular social media use and an increased risk for depression, anxiety and loneliness. Feeling ignored and rejected by someone because they didn’t respond to your text message can contribute to these feelings. So, how can we ease our minds when we are left on read? Don’t assume the worst We all get busy, and sometimes respond ing to texts may not be our first priority. It is perfectly plausible that the person who has left you on read is in the same boat. We shouldn’t always expect people to respond to us right away because we are not always their first priority. This isn’t always personal though, and there’s no use in speculating about the unknown and worrying unnecessarily. Distract yourself Staying on your phone and obsessing over the “read” icon in your messages will just make you feel worse. Put your phone down and read, watch one of your favorite shows, or go on a walk. When we’re on our phones constantly, it can be easy to forget that life goes on outside of the realm of cellular data. When we realize this, being left on read may start to seem less significant. Call a friend Just because one person in your life may not have the time at the moment to communicate with you doesn’t mean other people don’t. When we feel ignored, it’s easy for our minds to spiral into thinking that no one wants to talk or spend time with us, which usually isn’t true. Call or text a friend to meet up! They may even be open to listening to your feelings about being left on read and will offer advice, if solicited. Your entire world does not revolve around one person, and though it hurts to be ignored by them, there are plenty of other people who care about you and like to spend time with you. ~ Feeling anxious or sad when you’re left on read is a normal response to feeling rejected and ignored, but it’s important to remember that our thoughts aren’t always our reality - and an ignored text message is not the end of the world.

The Northwood Omniscient is an award-winning student magazine. In 2021, the publication received the Tar Heel Award for its website from the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association (NCSMA) along with recognititon for many individual students’ pieces. If you are interested in journalism, current events, writing or graphic design, then The Northwood Omniscient is for you. As a journalism student, you will practice your writing, editing and creative skills while working with other student journalists. To become a staff member for The Northwood Omniscient, join Journalism Club or apply for the Journalism class.

To learn more about both the club and class, please contact Ms. Eliza Brinkley at ebrinkley@chatham.k12.nc.us.