The Group Chat Hates When You Do This

Group texting has become a part of our daily routines as an easy way to keep up with different circles of friends and family. But a new study suggests it may not be all that good for us.

Of 1,005 Americans surveyed by Secure Data Recovery(Opens in a new window), 86% are in between one and four group chats. Most chats are with friends (75%) or family members (67%). These messaging threads generate such a high volume of content that over half (52%) struggle to keep up. In fact, 42% say that managing their chats can feel like a part-time job.

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The biggest annoyance by far is having too many notifications (68%), followed by trouble keeping up with conversations (37%). The most-shared content comes from TikTok (39%), GIFs (32%), and emojis (29%). So one way to help reduce stress for your fellow group chatters might be to limit the number of messages and content you send.

Other frustrations include being added to groups without consent, messaging at off hours, off-topic conversations, and people not responding to important messages. The respondents reported being most annoyed by family chats (30%), followed by DMs from online communities such as Reddit (24%), and coworkers (23%).

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It also takes mental energy to switch between chats: 76% of those surveyed say each one has a unique tone and style of communication. Certain types of messages also affect groups differently. For example, baby boomers seem to find emojis much more annoying than TikTok videos, with 46% reporting their distaste for emojis compared with 25% for TikToks.

Then there’s also the problem of sending the message to the wrong chat, which 40% of people say they’ve done. But that can be an easy mistake to make, as nearly half (41%) say they often share the same content across multiple groups, which can lead to similar conversations.

If you’re one of the two-thirds of Americans feeling overwhelmed by all this chat activity, here are some easy ways to manage it better. The most common strategy is muting notifications for a particular group, which 59% of respondents say they’ve done. A quarter say they turn on “do not disturb” mode to reduce the notifications as well. But if you’re really done with the chat, don’t be afraid to leave it or ask others to limit their messages.

(Credit: Secure Data Recovery)

Study Methodology: Secure Data Recovery surveyed 1,005 Americans using the Prolific online research platform. The respondents were 48% female, 50% male, and 2% nonbinary, ages 18-76. Gen Z made up 16%, millennials 51%, Gen X 21%, and baby boomers 12%.