Article posted Wednesday, June 27, 2012 11:27am

Dear Ms. Manners,

I have a problem. A friend of mine (he may not the sharpest crayon in the box) texts me constantly. I’m talking upwards of 60 times a day. If I ignore him, he keeps texting, and texting… and texting. But I don’t have time to respond to every message! How do I politely get him to still his texting thumbs?

Sincerely,

Textually Dysfunctional in Door

Dear Textually Dysfunctional in Door,

Does your friend have a job? Or a life for that matter? How can anyone have time to send 60 texts a day to one friend alone? I’m also going on the assumption that this same friend probably has other victims in his contact list. Also, what could possibly be so interesting that 60 texts are needed? We’ve all gotten used to banal, silly, and just plain boring Facebook posts, but those can be easily ignored. Texting, however, is a more direct form of contact and unless you have a silent feature, those multiple beeps are going to send you to a padded cell quicker than anything. Even with a silent feature, those incessant notifications must make you feel hunted and/or stalked. I shudder to think how much blood pressure would rise if I was in the same boat. This guy redefines “constant contact.”

I would firmly and calmly tell your pal that you do not have time to correspond via text all day long. Be sure to give specific examples, such as “Joe, I can’t use my cell phone while at work, so I turn it off,” or “Joe, it’s great that you want to stay in touch, but I have a lot of things going on during the day, so I might not always get back to you.”

If all else fails, change your number and make sure Joe doesn’t get your new one.

Good luck,

Mary Pat